Lib, 


Scientific  Soil  Culture  Series 


RICHARD  A.  HASTE,  Editor 


Manual  of  Soil  Culture — Campbell 
Wheat—  TenEyck 

IN  PREPARATION 

The  Soil—lTillard 

Plant  Growth— Haste 

Soil  Tillage— Campbell 

Soil  Biology — 'Bo  I  ley 

Orchard  and  Small  Fruits — Stephens 

Plant  Breeding — Buffum 

Irrigation  and  Drainage — Haste 

Manual  of  Soil  Culture,  two  volumes — Campbell 

Farm  Management — Haste 


Campbell  Soil  Culture  Publishing  Co, 

Lincoln,   Nebraska 


WHEAT 


Practical     Discussion    of    the     Raising, 

Marketing,  Handling  and  Use  of  the 

Wheat  Crop,  Relating  Largely 

to  the  Great  Plains  Region 

of   the   United    States 

and  Canada 

BY 

A.  M.  TEN  EYCK 

epartment,  Iowa  State 

of  AsronCT.vac.-  P~:e 
re  State  A'gricuitnnl 
t.  Han 


FIRST  EDITION 


. 


C  A  V  F  S  E  L  L 


l°lA 


Copyrighted  by  Campbell  Soil  Culture  Pub.  Co. 
1914 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.    Introduction 9 

II.    Habits  and  Types 15 

III.  Seed  Improvement 29 

IV.  Soil,  Climate  and  Cultivation       .     .    38 
V.  Wheat  Seeding  and  Cultivation    .     .     59 

VI.    Harvest  and  Yield 70 

VII.  Threshing  and  Marketing    ....    81 

VIII.  Wheat  Enemies       .......    92 

IX.  Maintaining  Soil  Fertility    ....  100 

X.  Wheat  on  the  Pacific  Coast     ...  122 

XI.  Wheat  Growing  in  Canada       ...  134 

XII.    Culture  Methods 146 

XIII.  Rotation  of  Crops 157 

XIV.  Seeding  Machinery 163 


APPENDIX 


Individual  Practices' 


How  to  Run  a  Binder   ': 


169 

187 


Index  ,  192 


PREFACE 

This  little  book  deals  largely  with  the  wheat 
culture  of  the  Great  Plains  region  of  the  United 
States  and  Canada,  but  the  writer  has  attempted 
also,  to  give  some  general  information  on  the 
raising,  marketing,  handling  and  use  of  the  wheat 
crop.  This  book  is  not  technical  but  treats  the 
subject  in  a  practical  way  and  is  written  especially 
for  the  study  and  use  of  those  who  are  engaged 
in  wheat  farming. 

During  my  fifteen  years  experience  in  wheat 
farming,  five  years  in  North  Dakota  and  ten  years 
in  Kansas,  in  connection  with  the  state  agricul- 
tural colleges,  I  have  gained  some  special  knowl- 
edge of  culture  methods  and  practice  which  may 
be  of  value  to  others  who  are  engaged  in  the  wheat 
growing  business.  In  preparing  the  following 
pages  I  have  also  consulted  other  authorities  on 
the  subject  and  have  frequently  quoted  from  wheat 
books  and  bulletins.  I  wish  to  refer  especially 
to  " Cereals  in  America"  by  Thomas  F.  Hunt, 
and  the  "Book  of  Wheat"  by  Peter  Tracy  Dond- 
linger  as  being  among  the  best  authorities  on  the 
subject.  For  the  illustrations  shown  in  figures  1, 
4,  6,  7,  8,  11,  12,  13,  14,  16  and  22,  I  am 
indebted  to  the  courtesy  of  the  Kansas  experi- 
ment station  and  the  Ft.  Hays  branch  station. 

Perhaps  this  book  is  hardly  worthy  of  a  formal 
dedication,  but  I  wish  to  present  it  with  my  heart- 
iest good  wishes  to  the  dry  land  farmers  of  the 


western  plains  and  the  Pacific  slope,  hoping  that 
it  will  help  them  to  solve  the  great  problems  of 
western  agriculture,  help  to  make  dry  farming 
profitable  and  permanent  and  thus  establish  the 
homes  and  happiness  of  those  splendid  men  and 
women  of  the  great  west. 

A.  M.  TEN  EYCK, 
Iowa  State  College,  Ames,  Iowa. 
Jan.  1, 1914 


CHAPTER  I 


INTRODUCTION 

Wheat  is  the  world's  greatest  cereal  crop.  Both 
corn  and  oats  exceed  wheat  in  bulk,  but  by  weight 
the  four  great  cereals  rank  in  the  order  of  their 
production  as  follows:  Wheat,  corn,  oats,  rice. 
It  may  be  of  interest  to  observe  that  in  bulk  or 
bushels  oats  ranks  first,  corn  second,  wheat  third, 
and  rice  fourth.  But  as  a  food  for  human  con- 
sumption, wheat  ranks  first,  rice  second,  corn 
third,  and  oats  fourth.  Rice  and  wheat  were  the 
grains  of  the  early  eastern  civilizations.  Corn 
was  the  great  food  plant  of  the  natives  of  Central 
and  North  America.  Rice  is  today  the  chief  food 
of  half  of  the  people  of  the  earth. 

THE  WORLD'S  PRODUCTION  OF  CEREALS 

In  the  United  States  the  order  of  production  is 
in  part  reversed,  corn  ranking  first,  wheat  second, 
and  oats  third  by  weight;  but  in  bulk,  oats  ranks 
secorid  and  wheat  third.  Rice  is  grown  to  only  a 
limited  extent  in  the  United  States  but  it  is  the 
principal  grain  crop  of  China,  India,  Japan  and 
other  Asiatic  countries.  The  agricultural  year 
book  gives  the  total  yield  of  these  grains  in  the 
world  and  in  the  United  States  in  1910  as  follows: 

(9) 


10 


WHEAT 


United  State's  Crop  World's  Crop 

1.  Wheat. . . .    695,443,000  bushels.  .  .     3,650,952,000  bushels 

2.  Corn 3,125,713,000  bushels.  .  .     3,672,636,000  bushels 

3.  Oats 1,126,765,000  bushels.  .  .     4,146,512,000  bushels 

4.  Rice *710,289,000  pounds.  .  .  190,186,068,000  pounds 

*Crop  of  1909. 

The  world's  crop  of  wheat  in  1910  was  produced 
as  follows: 


Bushels 

North  America .  855,433,000 
South  America .  159,753,000 
Europe 1,952,531,000 


Bushels 

Asia 508,152,000 

Africa 72,886,000 

Australasia 102,197,000 


Total 3,650,952,000 

LARGEST  WHEAT  PRODUCING  STATES 

The  states  producing  more  than  25,000,000 
bushels  of  wheat  in  1910  with  the  average  yields 
per  acre  for  the  ten  year  period,  1901-1910,  are 
given  as  follows: 


State 

Total  Production 
1910 
(Bushels) 

Average  per  Acre 
Yield  1901-1910 
(Bushels) 

Missouri  

25,130,000 

14.31 

Oklahoma  
Washington  
Pennsylvania  
Ohio  
Illinois  
North  Dakota 

25,363,000 
25,603,000 
27,697,000 
31,493,000 
31,500,000 
36,105,000* 

12.56 
22.34 
16.93 
15.95 
15.66 
12.08 

Nebraska 

39,515,000 

17.87 

Indiana  
South  Dakota  
Kansas  
Minnesota  

40,981,000 
46,720,000 
62,068,000 
91,080,000 

15.19 
12.75 
13.64 
13.55 

United  States  

6f5,443,000 

14.28 

*Drouth  cut  the  North  Dakota  crop  in  two  in  1910. 

The  wheat  countries,  producing  more  than 
100,000,000  bushels  in  1910  are  given  in  order 
of  their  total  production  as  follows : 


WHEAT  11 

Bushels  Bushels 

Russia 755,695,000  Canada 149,990,000 

United  States. . .  . 695,443,000  Germany 141,884,000 

British  India 357,941,000  Spain 137,448,000 

France 268,364,000  Argentina 131,010,000 

Austria  Hungary. 255,162,000  Roumania 110,761,000 

Italy 153,337,000 

PRODUCTION  OF  WINTER  AND  SPRING  WHEAT 

Wheat  is  most  largely  grown  in  cool,  temperate 
climates.  Its  winter  growing  habit  and  early 
maturing  season  make  it  especially  well  suited  to 
the  higher  and  drier  sections  of  the  middle  and 
western  states.  The  varieties  adapted  to  fall 
seeding  are  grown  in  the  warmer  wheat  sections, 
but  there  are  many  spring  sorts  adapted  to  the 
colder  climates. 

Of  the  states  named,  North  Dakota,  South 
Dakota,  Minnesota  and  Washington  grow  prin- 
cipally spring  wheat.  The  other  states  grow 
largely  winter  wheat.  In  the  United  States  much 
more  winter  wheat  than  spring  wheat  is  grown. 
The  production  of  each  in  1911  is  given  in  the 
year  book  as  follows: 

Winter  wheat 430,656,000  bushels 

Spring  wheat 190,682,000  bushels 


Total 621,338',000  bushels 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  WHEAT  CROP  OF  THE  UNITED 
STATES 

The  amount  of  wheat  exported  by  the  United 
States  has  decreased  rapidly  during  the  last  ten 
years,  even  while  our  production  was  increasing. 
This  is  due  to  the  great  increase  in  population. 
The  distribution  and  consumption  of  wheat  in 


12  WHEAT 

the  United  States  for  the  past  fifteen  years  is 
shown  in  Table  I.  If  the  present  rate  of  increase 
in  the  home  consumption  of  wheat  continues  our 
surplus  for  export  will  be  wiped  out  in  six  years, 
and  the  United  States  will  become  an  importer 
of  wheat  and  flour  rather  than  an  exporter. 

WHEAT  PRODUCTION  IN  CANADA 

In  1912,  Canada  produced  199,236,000  bushels 
of  wheat  on  9,758,400  acres  or  an  average  yield 
of  20.42  bushels  per  acre.  A  somewhat  larger 
crop  was  reported  for  1911,  viz.,  215,918,000 
bushels.  Most  of  this  wheat  was  grown  in  the 
western  provinces,  Manitoba,  Saskatchewan  and 
Alberta.  The  total  production  of  these  three 
provinces  is  placed  at  183,322,000  bushels  in 
1912  and  194,083,000  bushels  in  1911.  The 
acreage  and  production  of  each  province  in  1912 
are  given  as  follows:* 


Province 
Manitoba      .   . 

Acres 
2,653,100 

Total  Crop 
Bushels 
58,899,000 

Saskatchewan     .... 

4,891,500 

93,849,000 

Alberta          .          

1,417,200 

30,574,000 

Total  

8,961,800 

183,322,000 

The  total  acreage  grown  in  the  three  provinces 
in  1911  was  reported  as  9,301,293  bushels. 

The  wheat  acreage  of  Canada  has  doubled  in 
five  years,  and  the  average  yield  per  acre  has  also 
increased,  exceeding  the  average  acre-yield  in  the 
United  States  by  more  than  five  bushels  per  acre 


*Total  yield  for  Canada  1913,  210,998,800  bushels. 


WHEAT 


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14  WHEAT 

in  1911  and  1912.  This  increased  acre-yield  is 
due  in  part  to  favorable  seasons  and  also  to  the 
practice  of  better  culture  methods  and  to  the 
planting  of  adapted,  early-maturing  varieties. 

There  has  been  an  unprecedented  development 
of  the  Canadian  northwest  since  1903.  If  this 
rate  of  development  continues  for  the  next  ten 
years,  Canada  will  rank  with  Russia  and  the 
United  States  as  one  of  the  three  greatest  wheat 
producing  countries  of  the  world.  It  is  estimated 
that  there  are  in  the  three  western  provinces 
about  180,000,000  acres  available  for  cultivation, 
the  greater  part  of  which  is  adapted  to  wheat 
growing.  Of  this  area,  not  more  than  6%  is  at 
present  under  cultivation.  There  is  enough  good 
wheat  land  in  the  western  provinces  alone  when 
this  land  is  brought  under  cultivation,  to  produce 
two  billion  bushels  of  wheat  annually,  and  allow 
one-third  of  the  land  to  lie  fallow  each  year.  To 
the  north  of  Alberta  and  Saskatchewan  in  the 
territories  of  Mackenzie,  Keewatin,  Ungava  and 
Yukon  lies  an  immense  area  of  more  than  900,000,- 
000  acres,  some  of  which  will  eventually  be  cul- 
tivated in  wheat,  as  shown  by  the  fact  that  wheat 
has  already  been  successfully  grown  at  several 
points  within  this  region. 


WHEAT  15 

CHAPTER  II 
HABITS  AND  TYPES 

BOTANICAL  RELATIONS 

Wheat  belongs  to  the  family  of  true  grasses 
(Gramineae).  The  grass  family  is  a  large  and 
very  important  one  because  of  the  great  number 
of  species  that  supply  both  grain  and  hay.  They 
include  all  the  standard  varieties  of  small  grains, 
corn,  grain-sorghums  and  all  grasses  used  for 
hay  and  fodder.  The  cultivated  grains  and  grasses 
furnish  the  staple  foods  for  man  and  beast  the 
world  over, 

HABITS  AND  STRUCTURE  OF  PLANT 

The  leaves  of  wheat  are  slender  and  ribbon-like 
and  attached  to  the  stem  at  the  nodes  in  the  form 
of  a  sheath  covering  the  internodes.  The  stems 
are  round  and  usually  hollow;  height,  three  to 
five  feet.  You  have  noticed  the  mass  of  leaves 
clustered  close  to  the  ground  when  the  plants  are 
young  and  observed  how  quickly  they  are  carried 
up  off  the  ground  when  the  wheat  begins  to  stem 
or  "boot."  Fall  sown  grains  produce  only  leaves 
until  early  spring,  then  the  plant  stems  lengthen, 
not  only  by  growing  at  the  tip  but  the  internodes 
grow  in  length  also.  When  a  field  of  grain  is 
blown  down  or  lodged,  it  may  "straighten  up" 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  cells  on  the  under  side 
of  the  stem  increase  and  grow  faster  than  the 
cells  on  the  upper  side.  Also,  renewed  growth 
occurs  at  the  nodes  to  strengthen  the  stem. 


16  WHEAT 

FLOWER  AND  FRUIT 

Wheat  flowers  have  pistils  and  stamens  but  no 
colored  showy  parts.  The  stamens  and  pistils 
are  protected  by  greatly  shortened  leaves  called 
glumes  or  palea.  Short  spikelets  containing  one 
to  three  small  flowers  are  closely  attached  to  the 
fruiting  stem  (rachis)  and  form  a  close  compact 
head  or  spike.  It  has  been  found  that  the  anthers 
shed  their  pollen  and  the  stigmas  become  moist 
before  the  flowers  open,  and  are  thus  normally 
close  fertilized.  There  is  probably  little  or  no 
natural  crossing  in  wheat.  Hays  found  that  wheat 
flowers  open  and  close  in  the  early  morning,  the 
operation  consuming  only  twenty  to  forty  min- 
utes.* 

GERMINATION  AND  ROOTS 

When  the  seed  sprouts,  the  shoot  grows  upwards 
and  forms  a  second  growth  of  roots  that  are  per- 
manent, the  first  set  eventually  dying.  The 
length  of  the  first  shoot  varies  according  to  the 
depth  of  soil  covering.  If  the  seed  is  covered 
deeply  it  will  grow  to  within  one  to  two  inches  of 
the  surface  before  forming  the  permanent  roots. 
Too  deep  planting  may  therefore  weaken  the  plant 
and  reduce  the  growth  and  yield.  The  root  system 
of  wheat  and  all  other  cereals  and  grasses  consists 
of  slender,  much-branched  rootlets.  There  is  no 
a  tap  root. 


*Minnesota  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  No.  62. 


WHEAT  17 

STOOLING 

In  wheat  and  nearly  all  cereals  and  grasses  more 
than  one  stem  is  formed  from  each  seedling.  This 
is  called  stooling  or  tillering.  It  is  a  characteristic 
to  be  encouraged  in  small  grains.  It  is  due  to 
the  branching  of  the  stem  below  the  ground  just 
after  the  permanent  roots  are  formed.  Each 
branch  soon  forms  its  own  roots.  Cool,  damp 
weather  during  the  early  growth  of  the  grain 
favors  stooling,  as  does  also  a  fertile  soil.  Furrow 
planting  (listing)  of  small  grains  seems  to  favor 
stooling,  but  in  the  case  of  corn  it  appears  to 
retard  the  tendency  to  " sucker."  Thick  seeding 
checks  the  vigor  of  individual  plants  and  reduces 
stooling.  However  the  thickly  planted  grain  may 
mature  earlier  and  more  evenly,  and  may  make 
larger  yields.  The  character  of  soil,  the  moisture 
supply,  temperature  and  altitude  affect  the  stool- 
ing habit,  the  cooler  drier  climates  being  favor- 
able. The  amount  of  seed  sown-  per  acre  varies. 
Thin  seeding  gives  hardier,  stronger  plants,  larger 
stools  with  stronger  and  deeper  feeding  roots,  and 
is  preferred  in  dry  climates  and  for  the  less  fertile 
soils. 

THE  GRAIN 

The  wheat  grain  is  a  dry,  indehiscent  fruit 
which  has  the  pod  and  a  single  seed  incorporated 
in  one  body.  Such  a  fruit  is  called  a  caryqpsis. 
The  grain  is  about  two  and  a  half  times  as  long 
as  it  is  broad,  with  a  hairy  apex,  oval  in  shape  but 
slightly  compressed  laterally,  with  a  furrow  or 
groove  on  the  side  opposite  the  embryo  caused  by 

2 


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WHEAT  19 

a  deep  infolding  of  the  pericarp  or  bran.  The 
physical  parts  of  the  wheat  grain  and  their  average 
proportions  are  as  follows: 

Seed  covering  or  bran 5.0  % 

Aleurone  layer  enclosing  endosperm  and  embryo 3.5% 

Embryo 6.5% 

Endosperm  or  main  portion  of  grain 84.0% 

The  endorsperm  is  the  portion  from  which  the 
flour  is  made.  It  is  made  up  largely  of  starch 
cells  but  contains  also  about  8  to  10%  of  gluten. 

>Fhe  aleurone  layer  is  composed  of  a  single  row 
ofTarge  cells  known  as  aleurone  or  gluten  cells, 
but  this  part  is  not  included  in  the  flour. 

The  bran  is  made  up  of  six  layers  of  cells,  the 
three  outer  layers  being  the  pod  or  pericarp,  and 
the  inner  layers  the  coverings  of  the  ovule  or 
seed  proper. 

The  embryo  may  be  divided  into  the  vegetative 
portion  which  contains  the  miniature  first  leaves 
and  roots  of  the  new  plant,  and  the  scutellum  or 
absorbent  organ  which  at  germination ,  dissolves 
the  substance  of  the  endosperm  and  transfers 
it  to  the  vegetative  portion.  The  embryo  con- 
tains a  high  percentage  of  ash,  about  16%  of  fat, 
33%  of  protein  and  considerable  quantities  of 
carbohydrates,  mainly  sugar. 

VARIATION  IN  SIZE 

Bessey  estimates  the  cubic  content  of  a  wheat 
grain  to  be  twenty  to  thirty  cubic  millimeters. 
Richardson  found  an  average  of  12,000  grains 
in  a  pound  of  wheat.  There  were  variations  of 
8,000  to  24,000  grains  to  the  pound.  Thus  one 
bushel  of  seed  in  one  case  would  be  equivalent 


20  WHEAT 

to  three  bushels  in  the  other,  so  far  as  individual 
grains  are  concerned.  The  standard  (and  gen- 
erally legal)  weight  per  bushel  (2,150.42  cu.  in.) 
of  wheat  is  sixty  pounds.  The  measured  bushel 
may  vary  in  weight  from  fifty  to  sixty-five  pounds. 
The  color  of  the  grain  varies  from  light  yellow 
to  dark  red.  Hardness  of  grain  and  high  nitrogen 
content  are  usually  associated  with  a  deep  red  or 
clear  amber  color. 

SPECIES  AND  VARIETIES 

There  are  seven  or  eight  different  species  or 
sub-species  of  wheat.  Only  one  of  these  types  is 
generally  grown  in  the  United  States.  This  is 
the  common  milling  wheat  of  the  world,  the 
botanical  name  of  which  is  Triticum  sativum 
vulgare.  It  includes  practically  all  of  the  winter 
wheat  and  most  of  the  spring  wheat  grown  in 
this  country.  The  species  Triticum  sativum 
durum,  commonly  called  durum  wheat  or  maca- 
roni wheat,  which  is  used  largely  in  the  manu- 
facture of  macaroni,  also  succeeds  well  as  a 
spring  wheat  in  the  drier  portions  of  the  Dakotas, 
Nebraska  and  Kansas. 

There  are  several  divisions  of  the  species 
Triticum  sativum  vulgare  such  as  the  hard  and 
soft  wheat;  and  either  of  these  may  be  divided 
into  several  groups  as  red  hard  wheat,  white  hard 
wheat,  red  soft  wheat  and  white  soft  wheat. 
Furthermore,  there  are  bearded  and  beardless 
types  of  each  of  these  groups,  and  while  some 
varieties  have  smooth  chaff  others  have  a  rough 
or  velvety  chaff.  There  are  red  chaff  and  white 


WHEAT  21 

chaff  varieties  also.  The  varietal  names  number 
into  the  hundreds,  and  often  there  is  no  marked 
characteristic  to  distinguish  the  variety.  Carleton 
has  tested,  studied  and  described  245  leading 
varieties  of  wheat  out  of  one  thousand  or  more 
samples  secured  from  all  parts  of  the  world.* 

TYPES  OR  GENERA 

The  wheat  genus  includes  five  other  types  as 
follows: 

Einkorn Triticum  monococcum 

Spelt Triticum  sativum  spelta 

Emmer Triticum  sativum  dicoccum 

Poulard  wheat Triticum  sativum  turgidum 

Polish  wheat Triticum  polonicum 

These  types  of  wheat  were  largely  cultivated 
in  ancient  times  in  eastern  Asia,  Egypt,  Greece 
and  Italy.  They  are  usually  hardy  and  drouth- 
resistant,  and  are  grown  to  a  limited  extent  today 
in  dry  areas  and  cold  climates  but  more  for  feed 
for  livestock  than  for  human  food.  These  grains 
produce  an  inferior  type  of  flour. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  note  here  that  the 
"Alaska"  wheat,  much  advertised  a  few  years 
ago  by  promoters  as  a  wheat  of  wonderful  yield- 
ing power,  belongs  to  the  Poulard  group.  It  is 
a  variety  having  branching  spikes  and  is  also 
called  "Multiple  Head  Wheat,"  "Egyptian 
Wheat"  and  "Wheat  of  Miracle."  Thomas  F. 
Hunt  in  his  "Cereals  in  America,"  speaks  of  this 
variety  as  a  "sport  having  no  value." 

*United  States  Bulletin  No.  24,  Division  of  Vegetable  Physi- 
ology. 


22  WHEAT 

THE  BEST  VARIETIES  TO  PLANT 

A  large  number  of  varieties  of  winter  wheat 
have  been  tested  at  the  Kansas  experiment  station 
during  the  past  ten  years.  Among  the  better 
producing  varieties  as  shown  by  these  trials  are 
Kharkof,  Crimean,  Turkey  Red,  Malakoff, 
Ghirka,  Theiss,  Weisenberg,  Defiance,  Bearded 
(winter)  Fife,  Fultz,  Fulcaster,  Mediterranean, 
Currell  and  Zimmerman. 

It  is  important  to  observe  that  of  the  varieties 
named,  the  Ghirka  is  the  only  hard  red  wheat 
with  bald  or  beardless  heads  which  has  proved 
to  be  a  good  producer.  The  last  five  varieties 
named  are  of  the  soft  wheat  type;  the  Fultz, 
Fulcaster,  and  Mediterranean  are  bearded,  the 
other  two  are  beardless.  The  first  nine  varieties 
named  are  the  hard  red  wheat,  and  all  of  these  but 
the  Ghirka  are  of  the  bearded  Turkey  type  gen- 
erally grown  in  Kansas  and  throughout  the 
western  winter  wheat  belt.  The  adaptation  of 
varieties  varies  for  different  conditions  of  soil 
and  climate.  The  reader  is  referred  to  his  state 
experiment  station  for  information  regarding 
best  producing  varieties  for  a  particular  state  or 
locality. 

TYPES  OF  SPRING  WHEAT 

The  more  important  types  of  spring  wheat  are  the 
Fife,  Bluestem,  Velvet  Chaff,  Durum  and  Club 
Head.  There  are  a  number  of  minor  varieties 
of  each  of  these  types.  Fife  is  a  beardless,  smooth 
chaff,  hard  wheat.  There  are  both  red  and  white 


WHEAT  23 

% 

grained  varieties.  Bluestem  is  a  beardless  velvet 
chaff  wheat  with  grain  of  medium  hard  quality 
and  reddish  color.  Velvet  Chaff  is  a  trade  name 
for  several  varieties  of  bearded  soft  wheat.  Club 
Head  is  a  soft  white  wheat  with  short,  stubby, 
very  compact  heads,  usually  beardless,  with 
smooth  chaff.  All  of  the  types  and  varieties 
named  above  except  the  Durum  wheat,  belong 
to  the  group  "Common  Wheat,"  Triticum  sativum 
vulgare.  The  Club  Head  is  usually  classed  as  a 
sub-species,  Triticum  compactum.  Carleton  has 
given  the  natural  groups  of  wheat  and  the  names 
of  all  leading  varieties  adapted  for  growing  in  the 
different  wheat  districts  of  the  world.* 

MILLING  VARIETIES 

Two  general  types  of  milling  wheat  are  grown 
in  the  United  States,  hard  wheat  and  soft  wheat. 
The  great  plains  region  is  particularly  adapted 
for  growing  hard  red  wheat  of  excellent  quality, 
the  best  bread  making  wheat  in  the  world.  Nearly 
half  of  the  wheat  grown  in  the  United  States  is 
grown  in  the  north  central  states  west  of  the 
Mississippi  river,  viz:  Minnesota,  Iowa,  Mis- 
souri, North  Dakota,  South  Dakota,  Nebraska 
and  Kansas.  These  states  are  mainly  in  the  hard 
wheat  belt,  as  are  also  Oklahoma  and  Texas.  The 
Rocky  mountain  states  also  grow  some  hard  wheat. 
Soft  wheat  is  grown  in  the  more  humid  climates, 
mainly  in  the  north-eastern  and  north  central 


' United  States  Bulletin  No.  24,  Division  of  Vegetable  Physi- 
ology. 


24 


WHEAT 


states  east  of  the  Mississippi  river,  and  on  the 
Pacific  coast.  The  red  soft  wheat  is  grown  in 
the  eastern  states,  and  the  white  soft  wheat  is 
grown  mainly  in  Washington,  Oregon  and  Cali- 
fornia. 

HARD  AND  SOFT  WHEAT  CHARACTERISTICS 

Hard  wheat  has  a  grain  of  a  more  or  less  clear 
amber  color.  When  cut,  the  texture  appears  very 
compact  and  firm.  Soft  wheat  has  an  opaque 
color,  the  kernels  are  usually  plumper  and  lighter 
in  weight  than  hard  wheat,  and  when  broken 
the  grain  presents  a  white,  starchy  appearance. 
It  usually  contains  less  gluten  than  a  good  quality 
of  hard  wheat,  and  is  deficient  in  gliadin,  the 


Fig.  3. — A  field  of  beardless  spring  wheat,  North  Dakota. 


WHEAT  25 

plastic  part  of  gluten  which  gives  the  tenacity  to 
dough  and  affects  its  rising  quality.  The  best 
quality  of  light  bread  cannot  be  made  from  soft 
wheat  flour.  Hence,  soft  wheat  flour  is  used  more 
largely  for  pastries.  But  a  certain  proportion  of 
soft  wheat  is  used  to  blend  with  hard  wheat  in  the 
manufacture  of  the  best  patent  flour. 

VARY  WITH  CLIMATE 

The  hardness  apd  texture  of  the  grain  may  vary 
not  only  in  different  varieties  but  with  the  climate 
and  season  in  which  the  wheat  is  grown.  Hard 
wheat  varieties  which  characterize  dry  regions 
become  softer  when  grown  in  moist  climates. 
It  becomes  necessary  therefore,  in  the  more 
humid  sections  where  hard  wheat  is  grown  for 
the  farmers  to  change  seed  wheat  every  few  years, 
securing  the  new  seed  from  the  drier  sections 
farther  west  and  north  where  the  best  quality 
of  hard  wheat  is  produced.  Recent  experiments 
in  breeding  wheat  indicate  that  the  hard  char- 
acter may  be  maintained  in  the  more  humid 
sections  by  " head-row"  breeding  by  which  pedi- 
greed strains  are  produced  from  a  single  head  or 
plant  which  has  retained  the  character  of  hardness 
even  under  the  adverse  conditions.* 

DURUM   OR  MACARONI  WHEAT 

Durum  wheat  is  a  bearded  type  of  wheat  of 
which  there  are  several  distinct  varieties,  varying 
in  color  of  chaff,  smoothness  of  glumes,  etc.,  but 

'Bulletin    No.    156    Kansas  Experiment  Station,  by  Roberts 
&  Freeman. 


26  WHEAT 

all  having  the  characteristically  hard,  flinty  grain 
which  is  particularly  adapted  to  the  manufacture 
of  macaroni;  also  flour  from  this  wheat  is  now 
being  used  to  make  bread,  which  is  somewhat 
darker  in  color  than  bread  from  patent  flour,  but 
it  is  nutritious  and  has  an  agreeable  taste  and 
some  people  prefer  it  to  ordinary  wheat  bread. 
As  a  spring  wheat  it  is  rapidly  coming  into  use  in 
the  northwestern  states.  It  is  more  hardy  and 
more  productive  than  ordinary  spring  wheat. 
Brought  from  the  dry,  hot  steppes  of  Turkestan 
and  southeastern  Russia  where  it  has  been  grown 
for  hundreds  of  years,  it  is  decidedly  a  dry  farm- 
ing crop  and  it  is  proving  to  be  hardy  and  well 
adapted  to  the  severe  climate  of  the  northwest. 
It  is  not  so  safe  a  crop  and  is  less  productive  than 
winter  wheat  in  the  middle  west  and  in  the  south- 
west. Spring  wheat  is  not  well  adapted  for  grow- 
ing in  Kansas  and  the  states  farther  south. 

MILLING  PRODUCTS 

Wheat  is  almost  exclusively  used  for  the  pro- 
duction of  flour  from  which  various  forms  of 
human  food  are  made.  Varying  with  the  kinds, 
quality  and  grade  of  wheat  and  the  milling  pro- 
cesses, the  out-turn  of  mill  products  are  about  as 
follows : 

Flour. .  .  .  65  to  80%  (usually  70  to  75%) 

Bran 15  to  20% 

Shorts  and  middlings. .  5  to    8% 

The  by-products  of  wheat  are  highly  prized  as 
food  for  all  classes  of  livestock,  yet  within  the 
memory  of  persons  now  living  (1913)  the  bran 


WHEAT  27 

spout  of  grist  mills  emptied  its  contents  into  the 
river. 
Flour  is  usually  run  in  two  or  more  grades: 

1.  Patent  flour,  a  clear  white  grain. 

2.  Baker's  flour,  slightly  yellow  in  color. 

3.  Low  grade  flour,  dark,  soft  grain  and  lumpy,  containing 
particles  of  bran. 

Graham  flour  is  unbolted  wheat  meal  or  the 
whole  wheat  ground  into  a  meal,  nothing  being 
removed.  Entire  wheat  flour  is  wheat  meal  from 
which  the  coarsest  of  the  bran  has  been  removed. 

The  weight  per  bushel  is  a  test  in  part  of  the 
milling  qualities  of  wheat.  "Heavy"  wheat  tests 
fifty-nine  pounds  or  more  per  bushel.  The  lighter 
wheat  gives  a  larger  out-turn  of  the  less  valuable 
products,  bran  and  shorts.  Common  causes  of 
light  wheat  are  unadapted  seed,  lodging,  premature 
harvesting,  dry  hot  winds,  attacks  of  insects  and 
diseases  (smut  and  rust),  sprouting  in  the  shock, 
etc. 

COMPOSITION  OF  WHEAT  AND  ITS  PRODUCTS 

The  value  of  wheat  as  a  human  food  is  due  to  its 
palatability  and  the  attractiveness  and  great 
variety  of  forms  which  can  be  made  from  it,  as 
well  as  to  its  abundant  supply  of  nutritious  sub- 
stance. The  composition  of  wheat  and  its  pro- 
ducts is  given  as  follows:* 


"Hunt's  Cereals  of  America,  page  113. 


28 


WHEAT 


TABLE  II 

CHEMICAL  COMPOSITION  OF  WHEAT  AND  ITS 
PRODUCTS 

(PARTS  IN   100) 


Wheat 

Facent 
Flour 

Bran 

Shorts 

Mid- 
dlings 

Water.. 
Ash  
Protein  (Wx6.  25)  
Crude  fiber  
Nitrogen  free  extract 
or  carbohydrates.  .  . 
Fat 

9.07 
1.79 
14.35 
1.68 

70.37 

2.74 

11.48 
.39 
12.95 
.18 

73.55 
1.45 

11.9 
5.8 
15.4 
9.0 

53.9 
4.0 

11.8 
4.6 
14.9 
7.4 

56.8 
4  5 

12.1 
3.3 
15.6 
4.6 

60.4 
4  0 

Phosphoric  acid  

.82 

.18 

1.22 

AMOUNT  OF  BREAD  FROM  FLOUR 

The  value  of  flour  depends  upon  the  amount 
and  quality  of  bread  which  it  will  produce.  The 
amount  of  bread  also  depends  upon  the  condition 
of  baking  as  regards  the  amount  of  water  in  the 
dough,  size  of  loaves,  temperature  of  oven,  etc. 
The  United  States  department  of  agriculture, 
chemical  bulletin  No.  4,  reports  the  amount  of 
bread  baked  from  different  flours  handled  alike, 
as  varying  from  129  pounds  to  140  pounds  from 
each  hundred  pounds  of  flour.  The  flour  with  the 
least  percent  of  nitrogen  produced  the  smallest 
percent  of  bread.  Each  pound  of  wheat  will  pro- 
duce about  a  pound  of  bread,  since  the  percentage 
of  flour  in  wheat  averages  about  72%. 


WHEAT  29 

CHAPTER  III 
SEED  IMPROVEMENT 

ADAPTATION  OF  SEED 

Planting  good,  pure  seed  of  well  bred  wheat  of 
the  type  or  variety  best  adapted  to  the  local  con- 
ditions is  one  of  the  most  important  factors  in 
successful  wheat  culture.  It  is  well  for  the  grower 
to  keep  in  touch  with  the  state  experiment  stations 
where  the  varieties  are  being  continually  tested 
and  improved  in  order  to  secure  the  best  seed  of 
the  best  variety  for  his  state  or  locality. 

The  western  plains  south  of  the  Dakotas  is  the 
land  of  the  hard  red  winter  wheat,  and  the  Turkey 
or  bearded  type  is  generally  best  adapted  for 
growing  in  this  region,  but  there  are  different 
varieties  or  strains,  some  of  which  are  superior  to 
others  in  quality,  hardiness  and  productiveness. 
The  Kharkof  (Turkey)  wheat  has  been  proved 
to  be  one  of  the  best  producing  varieties  at  the 
Kansas  experiment  station. 

A  MONEY  CROP 

Wheat  is  the  great  "money"  crop  of  a  large 
part  of  the  dry  farming  area,  yet  it  is  not  especially 
a  drouth  resistant  crop.  Its  success  is  more 
largely  due  to  the  fact  that  the  crop  grows  and 
matures  during  a  part  of  the  year  when  drouth  and 
hot  winds  are  least  apt  to  prevail.  On  this  account 
also  it  makes  advantageous  use  of  the  moisture 
stored  in  the  soil  by  summer  tilling  and  by 


30  WHEAT 

careful  seedbed  preparation.  It  is  true  that 
western  farmers  have  been  depending  too  much 
upon  a  single  crop,  and  continuous  wheat  cropping 
is  rapidly  exhausting  the  soil  fertility.  The  writer 
would  not  discourage  the  growing  of  wheat  on 
this  account  but  rather  encourage  the  practice 
of  better  farming  methods,  described  in  these 
pages,  by  which  more  wheat  of  better  quality 
shall  be  produced  on  fewer  acres  without  depleting 
the  fertility  of  the  soil. 

Farmers  throughout  the  hard  winter  wheat 
belt  are  urged  to  plant  hard  red  winter  wheat  of 
the  Turkey  type  and  to  secure  seed  of  an  improved 
variety.  It  will  pay  to  plant  well  bred  seed  of  the 
best  producing  varieties,  as  has  been  proved  by  the 
tests  at  the  experiment  stations  and  the  actual 
experience  of  farmers. 

CLEANING  AND  GRADING 

It  is  advisable  to  clean  seed  grain  of  all  trash 
and  very  light  kernels.  Heavy,  plump  seed  ger- 
minates quickly,  grows  more  vigorously,  and  gives 
greater  assurance  of  a  regular  stand  and  a  large 
yield.  However,  carefully  graded,  shriveled  grain 
of  a  hardy,  adapted  variety  may  often  be  pre- 
ferable for  planting  to  well  developed  seed  brought 
from  a  different  climate.  There  are  many  good 
makes  of  fanning  mills  and  grain  graders.  The 
writer  prefers  for  general  use  the  ordinary  fanning 
mill  with  proper  sieves  and  screens  for  removing 
weed  seeds  and  small  and  broken  grains,  and  which 
allows  for  a  strong  blast  which  will  remove  the 


WHEAT  31 

chaff  and  dirt  and  light  weight  kernels  which  are 
likely  to  be  deficient  in  vitality. 

TREATMENT  FOR  SMUT 

If  the  seed  wheat  is  infected  with  smut,  it 
should  be  treated  with  a  solution  of  formaldehyde 
to  destroy  the  smut  spores  which  adhere  to  the 
wheat  kernels.  (See  page  96  for  full  treatment.) 

Treating  for  smut  and  careful  grading  of  seed 
may  not  only  increase  the  yield,  but  by  such  a 
practice  it  is  possible  to  maintain  a  good  variety 
of  wheat  and  improve  both  the  yield  and  quality 
of  grain  adapted  to  the  soil  and  climate.  All 
farmers  should  take  these  precautions  to  increase 
their  annual  yields  and  to  maintain  and  improve 
their  seed  wheat,  but  more  rapid  and  more 
permanent  improvement  may  be  secured  by 
individual  selection  of  plants  and  careful  breeding. 

WHEAT  IMPROVEMENT 

The  best  varieties  of  cereals  are  strains  that 
have  been  continuously  and  carefully  selected 
and  thus  adapted  to  the  soil  conditions  and  ac- 
climated to  the  belt  in  which  they  are  grown.  The 
Turkey  wheat  owes  its  hardiness  and  adaptation 
for  growing  in  our  western  plains  region  largely 
to  the  training  which  it  has  received  on  the  steppes 
of  Russia  and  Turkestan.  The  Russian  wheat 
introduced  into  the  hard  wheat  belt  of  this  country 
has  a  decided  advantage  over  the  soft  wheat  types 
of  the  eastern  states  which  are  not  adapted  to 
dry  climatic  conditions.  It  is  doubtful,  however, 


32  WHEAT 

if  new  importations  from  the  old  world  will  give 
any  advantage  over  the  best  local  strains  which 
have  been  developed  in  our  western  states  from 
the  early  importations. 

FROM  DRY  TO  MOIST  CLIMATE 

High  yielding  varieties  of  wheat  from  moist 
climates  generally  give  lower  yields  in  dry  climates 
than  acclimated  or  native  sorts,  and  vice  versa, 
when  the  conditions  are  extreme.  The  quality 
of  hard  wheat  in  the  more  humid  sections  of  the 
hard  wheat  belt  is  improved  by  planting  seed 
grown  under  drier  climatic  conditions,  and  if  the 
change  in  climate  or  soil  is  not  too  great,  the  yield 
may  not  be  decreased.  Such  changes  of  seed  from 
a  dry  section  to  a  moister  climate  should  be  made 
along  the  same  latitude  or  from  the  north  rather 
than  from  the  south  because  of  the  later  maturing 
ing  season  of  the  southern  grown  seed.  Also  in 
changing  seed,  care  should  be  taken  to  secure 
strains  of  the  best  producing  varieties  because  of 
the  greater  inherent  tendency  of  pure  strains  to 
produce  well,  even  under  changed  climatic 
conditions. 

HEAD-ROW  METHOD  OF  BREEDING 

The  more  valuable  new  varieties  of  cereals  that 
are  now  being  introduced  have  resulted  from  the 
careful  multiplication  of  seed  from  selected  in- 
dividual plants.  In  the  improvement  of  small 
grain,  these  plants  are  selected  by  a  process  of 
testing  and  elimination  known  as  the  "head-row" 


Fig.  4. — Head-row  breeding,  Kansas  Experiment  Station.    Note 
3  difference  in  head-rows. 


34  WHEAT 

method  of  breeding,  similar  to  the  "ear-row" 
method  of  breeding  corn.  A  large  number  of  the 
choicer  heads  of  a  high  yielding,  well-adapted 
variety  are  selected  from  the  field.  Many  of  these 
heads  which  are  inferior  in  points  of  structure, 
yield  and  quality,  may  be  discarded,  but  the  grain 
from  the  better  heads  is  saved  and  planted  in 
individual  rows  in  the  breeding  plot.  The  growth 
of  the  plants,  hardiness,  yield  and  quality  of  the 
grain  produced  by  each  head  is  thus  determined 
and  the  seed  from  the  best  yielding  "head-rows" 
may  be  used  to  plant  "increase  rows"  on  the  next 
year  "increase  plots"  and  so  on  until  enough  seed 
is  secured  to  plant  a  large  field  with  the  new  or 
pedigreed  strain. 

This  may  be  accomplished  in  a  relatively  short 
period  of  time.  In  the  experience  of  the  writer, 
the  seed  from  a  single  head  of  wheat  containing 
thirty  kernels  planted  in  the  breeding  row  has 
produced  a  pound  of  good  seed  for  planting  the 
second  season.  If  this  pound  of  wheat  be  planted, 
and  its  product  planted  the  next  year  and  so  on, 
multiplying  at  the  rate  of  thirty-fold  each  year, 
it  will  produce  thirty  pounds  of  wheat  the  first 
year,  fifteen  bushels  the  second  year,  and  450 
bushels  the  third  year,  or  enough  grain  to  plant 
400  to  500  acres.  Thus  a  single  head  of  wheat 
planted  in  1913,  and  its  product  planted  each  suc- 
ceeding year,  may  produce  enough  seed  in  1916 
to  plant  several  hundred  acres  of  the  pedigreed 
strain. 


WHEAT  35 

WORK  OF  THE  EXPERIMENT  STATION 

Pedigreed,  pure  bred  strains  of  wheat  or  other 
crops  are  apt  to  be  more  or  less  locally  adapted, 
hence  local  breeding  centers  are  necessary  in 
order  to  produce  or  secure  locally  adapted,  high 
yielding  varieties.  The  average  grain  grower 
may  not  take  the  time  to  make  "  head-row "  tests 
to  improve  his  seed  grain  but  this  work  should  be 
carried  on  at  the  experiment  stations  and  the 
pedigreed  seed  increased  and  distributed  to  the 
farmers,  who  should  grow  it  separately  and  keep 
it  pure  and  sell  the  crop  for  seed  to  their  neighbors, 
thus  rapidly  increasing  and  distributing  the  im- 
proved seed  throughout  the  community  and 
throughout  the  state. 

This  method  of  improving  our  cereal  grains 
depends  simply  on  discovering  the  great  individ- 
uals which  are  present  in  every  well-adapted 
variety,  and  making  them  the  progenitors  of  a 
new  or  superior  strain  of  that  variety.  Its  practice 
and  application  are  giving  remarkable  results. 
It  is  particularly  valuable  for  securing  rapid  im- 
provement in  dry  farming  crops.  The  old  method 
of  adapting  crops  to  the  dry  farming  conditions 
by  natural  selection  was  too  slow  because  the 
field-elimination  process  allowed  many  of  the 
weaker  plants  to  persist  and  bear  seed  each  year. 
The  new  method  discovers  the  few  hardy  in- 
dividuals at  once  and  eliminates  the  weaker  types 
so  that  the  increase  may  be  only  from  the  hardy, 
high-producing  type. 


36  WHEAT 

MAINTAIN  PURITY  AND  QUALITY  OF  IMPROVED 
SEED 

Farmers  who  are  growing  improved  wheat 
should  take  great  care  to  keep  the  seed  wheat 
pure  in  order  to  continue  the  distribution  of  the 
good  seed  and  to  maintain  the  yield  and  quality 
of  the  grain  grown  on  their  own  farms.  One  of 
the  principal  factors  which  causes  deterioration 
in  wheat  is  the  crossing  or  mixing  of  different 
varieties  or  strains.  Common  sources  of  mixing 
are  from  volunteer  wheat  which  occurs  when 
fields  are  reseeded  to  wheat  year  after  year;  or 
mixing  may  occur  in  the  harvesting  or  threshing 
where  two  or  more  varieties  are  grown  on  the 
same  farm  or  on  neighboring  farms.  Careless 
seedsmen  and  dealers  also  often  allow  the  varieties 
to  become  mixed  in  grading  and  handling,  so  that 
under  present  conditions  it  is  quite  difficult  to 
maintain  purity  in  seed  grain. 

COMMUNITY  SEED 

The  breeding  and  introduction  of  pedigreed 
strains  will  eventually  lead  to  the  establishment 
and  growing  of  one  of  the  best  producing,  pure 
bred  varieties  of  each  cereal  grain  in  each  com- 
munity or  in  each  locality  or  section  with  distinct 
climatic  or  soil  conditions.  Thus  there  may  be 
established  a  " community  seed"  which  will  be 
planted  by  all  the  farmers  in  that  community. 
This  will  be  a  great  advantage  over  the  present 
practice  of  growing  many  varieties,  some  of  which 
are  often  poorly  adapted  to  the  local  conditions. 


WHEAT 


37 


Because  of  the  mixture  of  types  and  varieties  and 
because  of  the  want  of  uniformity  in  type  and 
quality,  all  of  the  grain  sells  on  the  market  at  a 
relatively  low  price,  fixed  by  the  average  quality 
of  the  crop  rather  than  by  the  best  grain  which  the 
locality  produces.  The  general  planting  of  a 
"community  seed"  would  reverse  these  conditions 
and  would  result  in  larger  yields  and  better  prices 
and  a  greater  prosperity  for  every  farmer.  The 
farmers  in  each  community  should  get  together 
and  organize  and  adopt  a  "community  seed." 


Fig.  5. — Roots  of  spring  wheat  grown  under  semi-arid  con- 
ditions at  Edgeley,  North  Dakota.     Length  of  roots,  four  feet. 


38  WHEAT 

CHAPTER  IV 
SOIL,  CLIMATE  AND  CULTIVATION 

CLIMATIC  CONDITIONS 

Most  of  the  wheat  of  the  world  grows  in  regions 
with  cold  winters.  California,  Egypt  and  India 
are  exceptions.  On  the  whole,  however,  wheat 
has  a  very  wide  climatic  range.  It  is  grown  suc- 
cessfully in  northern  Russia  and  in  the  Canadian 
northwest,  and  has  matured  even  as  far  north  as 
Dawson,  Alaska,  65°  north  latitude,  about 
two  hundred  miles  from  the  Arctic  circle.  In 
the  direction  of  the  equator  we  find  the  limits  of 
successful  wheat  culture  between  20  and  25° 
north  and  south  latitude.  Wheat,  however,  is 
grown  successfully  on  the  mountain  plains  of 
Columbia  and  Ecuador,  at  the  equator  10,000 
feet  above  sea  level. 

While  wheat  has  a  very  wide  geographical 
range,  it  nevertheless  demands  a  similar  climatic 
condition  during  its  growing  season,  viz:  A 
moderately  cool  and  dry  temperature.  This  is 
secured  in  the  culture  of  the  crop  by  the  use  of 
winter  and  spring  varieties,  and  by  regulating 
the  time  of  seeding  so  that  the  period  of  growth 
and  maturity  shall  occur  during  the  cooler  part 
of  the  growing  season  in  the  warmer  climates. 

SOIL  REQUIREMENTS 

Generally  speaking,  wheat  requires  a  rather 
heavy  soil,  inclining  to  clayey.  The  lighter  or 
sandy  soils  are  not  so  well  adapted  for  growing 


WHEAT  39 

wheat,  however  soft  wheat  succeeds  well  on 
bottom  lands  of  a  loamy,  light  texture. 

To  produce  the  best  quality  of  hard  wheat 
requires  fertile  soil,  land  well  supplied  with  nitro- 
gen and  rich  in  the  mineral  elements  of  plant  food. 
The  soil  should  be  well  balanced  in  fertility.  If 
there  is  an  over-supply  of  nitrogen  caused  by 
heavy  manuring  or  by  growing  alfalfa  or  clover, 
there  is  likely  to  be  a  rank  growth  of  straw  which 
may  lodge  and  the  heads  fail  to  fill,  resulting  in 
light,  shrunken  grain. 

A  fertile  soil  which  is  well  supplied  with  organic 
matter  and  humus  will  produce  a  much  larger 
yield  of  wheat  under  similar  conditions  of  culture 
and  rainfall  than  a  less  fertile  soil  or  one  lacking 
in  vegetable  matter.  The  humus  will  take  in 
and  hold  more  water,  the  organic  matter  acting 
as  a  sponge  to  absorb  and  retain  the  moisture. 
Also  the  fertile  soil  will  supply  a  stronger  solution 
of  plant  food,  thus  producing  a  greater  growth 
with  the  same  amount  of  water  than  an  infertile 
soil.  Thus  the  fertilized  soil  has  the  advantage 
in  two  ways:  first,  it  absorbs  and  holds  more 
moisture  and  supplies  it  to  the  growing  crop; 
second,  it  makes  better  use  of  the  soil  water,  the 
plant  requiring  often  50%  less  water  because  of 
its  stronger  solution  of  plant  food  than  the  soil 
low  in  fertility  and  lacking  in  organic  matter. 

Therefore,  it  is  necessary  to  rotate  crops,  grow 
legumes  and  use  manure  and  fertilizers  to  main- 
tain and  increase  soil  fertility,  also  to  conserve  soil 
moisture  by  proper  culture  methods  in  order  to 
secure  the  largest  yields  of  wheat.  Moreover, 


40 


WHEAT 


special  care  must  be  given  to  preparing  the  seed 
and  root  bed  in  order  to  secure  the  proper  soil 
conditions  and  suitable  environment  in  the  soil 
for  germinating  the  seed  and  feeding  the  young 
plants.  • 

THE  SEED  BED 

The  proper  starting  of  a  crop  is  an  important 
factor  in  its  production.  A  germinating  seed 
requires  the  presence  of  moisture  and  air  and  a 


Fig.  6. — A  good  seed-bed.  A  cross-section  of  the  plowed  por- 
tion of  a  properly  prepared  seed-bed.  The  soil  is  mellow  but 
well  settled,  the  furrow  slice  making  a  good  connection  with  the 
subsoil. 


WHEAT  41 

favorable  degree  of  heat.  The  plantlet  is  nour- 
ished at  first  by  the  food  substance,,  stored  in  the 
mother  seed,  but  this  is  soon  used  up  and  the 
little  roots  quickly  spread  out  in  the  prepared 
soil  to  gather  the  moisture  and  available  plant 
food  which  may  be  found  there.  The  young  plant 
grows  and  is  soon  well  established  if  the  soil  is 
fertile  and  the  seed  bed  has  been  well  prepared. 

HOW  PLANT  FOOD  IS  MADE  AVAILABLE 

All  fertile  soils  contain  an  abundant  supply  of 
plant  food  elements,  but  the  compounds  in  which 
they  exist  are  usually  in  an  insoluble  condition  in 
the  soil,  a  provision  of  nature  which  prevents  the 
wasting  of  plant  food,  insures  the  permanency  of 
soil  fertility  and  the  continued  productiveness  of 
the  soil  for  ages,  providing  man  does  his  part. 

The  plant  food  of  the  soil  is  gradually  liberated 
by  the  action  t  of  weathering  agents  which  cause 
the  rock  particles  to  break  down  and  disintegrate, 
and  is  made  available  by  the  action  of  the  soil 
bacteria  which  assist  in  the  processes  of  decay. 
Thus  chemical  changes  take  place  by  which  the 
insoluble  plant  food  is  gradually  changed  into 
soluble  compounds,  the  elements  of  which  become 
available  to  the  plants  when  absorbed  by  the 
roots. 

This  "digestion"  of  the  plant  food  in  the  soil 
by  which  it  is  made  available  to  plants,  at  least 
so  far  as  bacteria  are  concerned,  is  favored  by  the 
same  conditions  which  are  essential  for  the 
germination  of  seeds  and  the  growth  of  plants,  viz., 
the  soil  must  be  warm,  moist  and  well  aerated. 


42 


WHEAT 


PROPER  PHYSICAL  CONDITION 

The  fertility  of  the  soil  is  developed  by  proper 
tillage.  The  physical  condition  of  the  soil  is 
nearly  always  more  important  than  mere  "rich- 
ness." A  finely  divided,  mellow  soil  is  more  pro- 
ductive than  a  hard,  lumpy  one  of  the  same  chemi- 
cal composition  because  it  retains  more  moisture, 
renders  plant  food  more  available  and  affords 
a  more  congenial  and  comfortable  place  in  which 
the  plants  may  grow. 


Fig.  7. — A  cloddy  seed-bed,  plowed  too  dry,  resulting  in  a  very 
unfavorable  condition. 


WHEAT 


43 


Fig.  8. — A  two-row  lister  with  eight  horses  listing  from  eight 
to  nine  inches  deep,  Hays,  Kas.,  Experiment  Station. 

The  seed  bed  for  wheat  and  other  small  grains 
should  be  mellow  at  the  surface,  but  firm  and  well 
settled  below  the  depth  at  which  the  seed  is 
planted.  This  provides  the  best  conditions  for 
supplying  the  moisture,  air,  and  heat  to  the  ger- 
minating seed  and  young  plants.  Deep  plowing  or 
deep  listing  should  be  encouraged,  but  it  should 
be  timely  so  that  the  soil  may  settle  and  fill  with 
moisture;  and  such  cultivation  should  be  given 
after  plowing  or  listing  to  secure  a  favorable  phys- 
ical condition  of  the  seed  bed. 

Plowing  the  land  early,  well  in  advance  of 
seeding  is  essential,  especially  in  the  dry  farming 
areas  of  the  western  plains.  Early  plowing  com- 
pared with  late  plowing  has  given  largely  in- 
creased yields  at  the  Oklahoma,  Kansas  and 
Nebraska  experiment  stations.  (See  Tables  III 
and  IV.) 


44 


WHEAT 


FIRMING  THE  SEED  BED 

When  land  is  allowed  to  lie  for  a  considerable 
period  after  plowing  before  the  crop  is  planted, 
the  action  of  the  rains  and  the  necessary  surface 
cultivation  usually  pack  and  firm  the  soil  to  a 
sufficient  extent  to  make  a  good  seed  bed.  The 
use  of  the  subsurface  packer  is  most  essential 
on  late  spring  plowing,  when  the  purpose  is  to 
plant  at  once  after  plowing.  For  sowing  fall 
wheat,  the  subsurface  packer  may  be  used  to 
advantage,  if  the  plowing  precedes  the  sowing  by 
a  short  interval.  By  setting  the  disks  rather 
straight  and  weighting  the  harrow,  a  disk  harrow 
may  be  used  as  a  substitute  for  the  subsurface 
packer. 

MAINTAIN  SOIL  MULCH— DESTROY  WEEDS 

It  is  essential  that  sufficient  and  proper  cultiva- 
tion be  given  to  destroy  weeds.  This  is  more 


Fig.  9. — The  Campbell  subsurface  packer. 


WHEAT  45 

important  than  to  maintain  a  soil  mulch,  since 
weeds  exhaust  both  the  soil  moisture  and  available 
plant  food.  If  a  proper  soil  mulch  is  maintained, 
however,  the  weeds  will  be  kept  in  subjection. 

It  is  advisable  to  weight  or  ride  the  common 
harrow  in  order  to  cause  it  to  stir  the  soil  to  a 
sufficient  depth  and  prevent  the  slicking  effect 
which  is  apt  to  result  from  light  harrowing.  A 
smooth,  finely  pulverized  surface  produced  by 
continuous,  light  harrowing  defeats  the  purpose 
of  the  cultivation,  since  soil  in  such  a  condition 
will  shed  heavy  rains,  causing  a  waste  of  the 
water  that  should  have  been  stored  in  the  soil. 
By  rendering  the  surface  too  fine  and  compact  an 
unfavorable  seed  bed  is  produced  and  the  proper 
aeration  of  the  soil  is  prevented.  Thus  during 
the  interval  between  crops  it  is  often  advisable 
to  use  the  lister  or  disk  harrow  in  order  to  keep 
the  surface  of  the  soil  open  and  mellow. 

CONSERVATION   OF   SOIL   MOISTURE 

In  the  more  humid  climates  it  is  often  necessary 
to  artificially  drain  the  land  in  order  to  keep  the 
soil  in  proper  physical  condition  and  cause  it  to 
produce  profitable  crops,  but  throughout  the 
great  plains  region  the  conservation  of  the  soil 
moisture  is  the  first  and  most  important  problem 
in  successful  farming. 

The  most  essential  part  of  soil  moisture  con- 
servation, the  most  important  factor  in  dry  farm- 
ing and  the  one  which  has  been  most  greatly 
neglected  by  our  western  farmers,  is  getting  the 
rain  water  into  the  ground  and  safely  storing  it 


46 


WHEAT 


in  the  subsoil  to  be  used  by  the  growing  crop.  The 
firming  and  pulverizing  of  the  soil  to  restore 
capillarity,  and  the  proper  cultivation  to  maintain 
the  soil  mulch  are  each  without  avail,  unless  there 
has  been  stored  in  the  deeper  soil  a  sufficient 
amount  of  moisture  to  supply  the  growing  crop 
in  times  of  drouth. 

SOIL  MULCH 

The  plan  of  producing  a  soil  mulch  to  conserve 
the  moisture  has  been  taught  and  more  or  less 
successfully  practiced  for  many  years;  but  in 
very  dry  years  this  method  must  fail  because  there 
is  no  moisture  stored  in  the  soil  to  be  conserved  by 
cultivation. 

The  moisture  should  be  caught  and  stored  at 
all  times  of  the  year,  but  especially  during  the 


Fig.  10. — Following  the  binder  with  a  disk  harrow  to  catch 
and  conserve  moisture. 


WHEAT  47 

interval  between  harvesting  and  planting.  The 
plan  should  be,  in  the  preparation  of  the  seed  bed, 
to  put  the  soil  in  the  most  favorable  condition 
to  receive  the  rain  and  carry  it  downward  into 
the  subsoil.  This  is  provided  by  disking  soon 
after  harvest  or  late  in  the  fall,  or  early  in  the 
spring.  Deep  plowing  a  long  time  before  planting 
leaves  the  soil  mellow  and  rough,  enlarges  the 
water  reservoir,  and  favors  the  absorption  of  heavy 
rains.  But  the  best  plan  to  store  moisture,  as 
determined  in  part  by  experiments  conducted 
by  the  writer  and  the  experience  of  a  number  of 
western  farmers,  is  the  method  of  listing  the  soil 
in  deep  furrows  and  high  ridges  soon  after  harvest 
or  in  the  fall  after  the  crops  of  corn  or  kafir  have 
been  cut  and  removed.  If  this  work  cannot  be 
accomplished  in  the  fall,  winter  listing  or  early 
spring  listing  is  desirable  on  such  lands  as  shall 
again  be  planted  to  intertilled  crops  or  which  may 
be  summer  fallowed  in  preparation  for  fall  wheat. 

THE  LISTING  METHOD  FOR  WHEAT  SEED  BED 

In  preparing  the  land  for  winter  wheat  list 
the  ground  with  the  ordinary  corn  lister  as  soon 
after  harvest  as  possible.  The  listed  furrows 
are  run  about  three  and  one-half  feet  apart, 
very  much  the  same  as  when  the  lister  is  used 
for  planting  corn.  Later,  when  the  weeds  have 
started,  the  soil  is  worked  back  into  the  listed 
furrows  by  means  of  the  harrow  or  disk  cultivator. 
Several  cultivations  are  usually  required  with  a 
spike  tooth  harrow  or  disk  in  order  to  level  the 
field  and  bring  it  into  good  seed  bed  condition. 


48 


WHEAT 


Fig.  11. — Disk  lister  cultivator  used  for  filling  listed  furrows. 


Once  over  with  the  disk  cultivator  is  sufficient 
to  fill  the  furrows,  the  further  work  necessary  to 
prepare  the  seed  bed  being  given  with  a  common 
harrow. 

In  preparing  the  ground  for  spring  wheat,  the 
listing  should  be  done  soon  after  harvest  and  the 
soil  worked  back  into  the  furrows  again  before 
the  ground  freezes.  Thus  it  may  settle  and  firm 
up  during  the  winter,  when  by  harrowing  or 
shallow  disking  in  the  spring  the  seed  bed  may  be 
put  into  favorable  condition  for  planting.  On 
land  which  is  inclined  to  drift  in  heavy  winds  it 
is  better  not  to  level  the  ridges  until  spring  as 
the  furrowed  soil  will  resist  blowing. 


WHEAT  49 

ADVANTAGE  OF  LISTING  METHOD 

In  a  dry  climate  this  method  of  preparing  the 
seed  bed  for  wheat  has  several  advantages.  The 
cultivation  of  the  land  soon  after  harvest  tends 
to  conserve  the  moisture  already  in  the  soil, 
the  furrows  catch  and  store  the  rain  and  the  later 
cultivation  clears  the  land  of  weeds  and  volunteer 
wheat  and  leaves  a  mellow  soil  mulch  to  conserve 
the  moisture  which  has  been  stored  in  the  subsoil. 
The  early  and  continuous  cultivation  of  the  soil 
favors  the  action  of  the  soil  bacteria  and  the 
development  of  available  plant  food.  Also, 
because  of  the  furrowed  surface,  a  larger  volume 
of  soil  is  exposed  to  the  action  of  bacteria. 

By  pursuing  this  method  the  farmer  may  cul- 
tivate a  larger  area  when  the  soil  is  in  good  con- 
dition to  cultivate,  since  listing  is  done  more 
rapidly  than  plowing.  Soil  which  is  opened  out 
in  listed  furrows  is  in  the  best  possible  condition 
to  catch  and  store  the  rain,  which  as  it  falls  soon 
reaches  the  bottom  of  the  furrow  and  is  rapidly 
absorbed  directly  into  the  subsoil  without  having 
to  pass  through  six  or  eight  inches  of  finely 
pulverized  compact  surface  soil.  Also  the  ridges 
may  be  cultivated  soon  after  a  heavy  rain,  thus 
covering  the  wet  furrows  with  mellow  soil  and 
"sealing"  the  reservoir  and  preventing  the  escape 
of  the  stored  moisture. 

SUMMER  TILLING 

The  listing  method  is  also  adapted  to  summer 
fallowing  (summer  tilling),  the  plan  being  to  keep 
the  surface  furrowed  and  in  a  mellow  condition 

4 


50 


WHEAT 


to  receive  and  store  as  much  of  the  rain  as 
possible  in  the  fall,  winter  and  early  spring. 
Later  in  the  summer,  the  land  may  be  leveled, 
plowed  and  worked  back  into  a  firm,  well  pul- 
verized seed  bed,  suitable  for  sowing  winter  wheat. 
In  preparing  a  fallow  for  seeding  spring  wheat, 
the  furrowed  condition  should  be  continued 
until  late  summer  or  early  fall.  The  listing  method 


Fig.  12. — Late  fall  cultivation  of  summer  fallow  with  twelve 
shovel,  two-row  corn  cultivator  to  conserve  moisture  and  pre- 
vent drifting. 


WHEAT 


51 


is  best  adapted  to  fairly  level  land  but  it  may  be 
used  successfully  on  a  sloping  field  by  running 
the  furrows  across  the  slope.  Or  in  the  case  of 
a  field  sloping  in  different  directions,  it  is  possible 
to  practice  "contour"  listing,  viz.,  listing  around 
the  hill,  making  the  furrows  always  at  right 
angles  with  the  slope.  Thus  the  rain  which  falls 
on  the  field  will  be  caught  in  the  furrows  and  led 
straight  downward  into  the  soil,  rather  than  down 
the  slope  by  surface  drainage. 

Experiments  in  preparing  the  seed  bed  for 
winter  wheat,  when  wheat  was  grown  each  season, 
compared  with  late  plowing,  early  plowing,  early 
listing  and  summer  fallowing,  were  carried  on  for 
six  consecutive  years  (1906  to  1912)  at  the  Hays 
branch  experiment  station  in  western  Kansas. 
The  crop  of  1909  was  entirely  destroyed  by  hail. 
The  average  yield  of  five  crops  by  the  several 
methods  is  given  in  the  following  table. 

TABLE  III 

Giving  yield  of  wheat  for  five  years,  1906  to 
1912,  and  percentage  of  moisture  in  soil  at  seeding 
time  for  1911  and  1912,  Fort  Hays  branch  experi- 
ment station,  western  Kansas. 


Method  of  Prepara- 
tion 

Yield 
per  Acre 
Total  in 
Five 
Years 

Average 
Yield 

Moisture 
in  6  Feet 
of  Soil  at 
Seeding 
Time 

Average 
Differ- 
ence in 
Yield 

Late  plowed,  Sept.  .  .  . 
Early  plowed,  July.  .  . 
Early  listed,  July  
Summer  fallowed  .... 

Bushels 
59.9 
83.3 
104.4 
58.9 

Bushels 
12.0 
16.7 
20.9 
11.8 

Percent 
13.7 
15.6 
16.4 
19.8 

Bushels 
—4.7* 
check 
4.2 
—4.9* 

*Decrease  in  yield. 


52  WHEAT 

The  land  prepared  by  the  listing  method 
yielded  21.1  bushels  more  wheat  per  acre  in  the 
five  years  than  the  land  which  was  plowed  early 
and  otherwise  given  approved  treatment.  Late 
plowing  yielded  23.4  bushels  less  than  early  plow- 
ing and  44.5  bushels  less  than  early  listing.  The 
fallowed  area  (cropped  alternate  years)  gave  24.4 
bushels  less  grain  per  acre  in  five  years  than  con- 
tinuous cropping  with  early  plowing,  and  45.5 
bushels  less  than  continuous  cropping  with  early 
listing.  These  results  are  not  favorable  to  alter- 
nate summer  fallowing,  and  indicate  that  a  less 
frequent  fallow  would  pay  better. 

In  Table  IV  are  compared  the  yields  secured 
at  the  Oklahoma  experiment  station  by  plowing 
at  different  dates  in  preparing  the  seed  bed  for 
fall  wheat. 

TABLE  IV 

Date  of  plowing  test  in  preparing  seed  bed  for 
wheat,  Oklahoma  experiment  station  (Bulletin 
No.  65). 


Preparation  Date  of  Plowing  Yield     per     Acre 

Early July   19 31.3  bushels 

Medium Aug.  15 28.5  bushels 

Late..  ..Sept.  11 15.3  bushels 

THE  SUMMER  FALLOW 

In  regions  where  the  rainfall  is  not  sufficient 
to  produce  a  paying  crop  each  year  by  continuous 
cropping,  the  system  of  summer  fallowing  with 
"summer  tillage "  (keeping  the  soil  mellow  and 
free  from  weeds)  should  be  practiced  every  three 


WHEAT 


53 


or  four  years  or  in  alternate  years,  if  this  is  neces- 
sary, in  order  to  store  a  sufficient  supply  of  mois- 
ture in  the  soil  to  insure  a  profitable  crop  when 
wheat  is  planted.  The  cultivation  of  the  fallow 
not  only  conserves  the  soil  moisture  and  clears 
the  land  of  weeds  but  also  favors  the  development 
of  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  so  that  a  larger  amount 
of  plant  food  may  become  available  to  the  crop 
following  the  fallow. 

METHODS  OF  FALLOWING 

There  are  several  methods  of  summer  fallowing 
practiced  in  the  several  states,  but  the  method 
which  has  given  uniformly  good  results  at  the 
Montana,  Nebraska  and  Kansas  experiment  sta- 
tions is  to  plow  deep,  six  to  eight  inches,  rather 
late  in  the  spring,  and  then  give  sufficient  cultiva- 


Fig.  13. — Listing  the  soil  to  prevent  drifting  and  to  conserve 
moisture  on  summer  tilled  land. 


54 


WHEAT 


Fig.  14. — Soil  that  has  been  listed  in  the  best  possible  condition 
to  catch  the  rainfall. 

tion  thereafter  to  maintain  a  soil  mulch  and  de- 
stroy weeds.  Such  treatment  puts  the  soil  in 
ideal  condition  for  seeding  in  the  fall  or  spring, 
but  the  continuous  cultivation  leaves  the  surface 
soil  finely  pulverized  and  smooth,  which  favors 
soil  washing  with  heavy  rains  and  soil  drifting 
in  strong  winds.  Some  practice  plowing  twice, 
rather  shallow  in  the  spring  and  deeper  the  second 
time  about  midsummer,  giving  surface  cultiva- 
tion after  the  second  plowing  sufficient  to  prepare 
a  good  seed  bed. 

Summer  tillage  may  exhaust  the   plant   food 
of  the  soil  faster  than  continuous  cropping,  since 


WHEAT  55 

there  is  apt  to  be  a  waste  of  the  soluble  plant  food 
elements  by  wind  and  drainage.  On  account  of 
these  facts  summer  tillage  should  not  be  generally 
practiced  except  in  regions  of  very  light  rainfall 
and  in  the  western  plains  region,  which  is  sub- 
ject to  very  strong  winds,  only  in  the  heavier 
soils  or  more  protected  locations. 

The  listing  method  of  summer  fallowing  has 
not  yet  been  tested  in  comparative  trials  at  the 
experiment  stations,  but  wherever  there  is  danger 
of  damage  by  soil  drifting,  the  listing  method, 
as  described  above,  should  be  preferred  to  plow- 
ing and  harrowing. 

TO  PREVENT  SOIL  DRIFTING 

How  to  prevent  soil  drifting  has  become  a  very 
serious  problem  to  the  western  farmer  during  the 
last  few  years.  The  breaking  of  the  prairie  sod, 
the  pulverizing  of  the  soil  by  tillage,  the  dry 
seasons,  and  continuous  cropping  have  made  the 
surface  soil  finer  and  looser,  which  conditions 
favor  soil  blowing  in  the  heavy  winds  which  are 
characteristic  of  the  western  plains. 

The  rotation  of  crops  and  seeding  a  part  of  the 
land  again  to  grass,  together  with  the  planting 
of  shelter  belts  and  wind  breaks,  will  be  some  of  the 
permanent  means  employed  to  solve  this  problem. 
Meanwhile  it  is  possible  to  temporarily  prevent 
soil  drifting  by  practicing  proper  culture  methods 
and  by  protecting  the  surface  with  a  dressing  of 
straw  or  manure  pressed  into  the  soil  with  a 
packer  or  a  disk  harrow. 


56  WHEAT 

SPREADING  STRAW  AND  PACKING 

The  writer  prevented  the  soil  from  blowing  on 
an  eighty  acre  wheat  field  at  the  Fort  Hays  experi- 
ment station  in  western  Kansas  in  the  spring  of 
1911,  by  spreading  straw  over  the  field  during  the 
winter  and  packing  it  into  the  soil  early  in  the 
spring  with  a  subsurface  packer.  The  packer 
pressed  the  straw  into  the  ground  causing  it  to 
stand  partly  on  end.  This  kept  the  straw  from 
blowing  away  and  served  as  a  protection  to  the 
ground,  which  entirely  prevented  the  soil  from 
drifting  on  this  field  in  the  very  severe  wind  storm 
of  March  26  of  that  year,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  this  field  was  not  well  covered  by  the 
growing  wheat  which  had  made  little  growth  in 
the  fall  and  was  therefore  inclined  to  blow.  Other 
fields  on  the  experiment  station  farm  which  were 
not  protected  with  straw  did  blow  badly. 

During  the  storm  referred  to,  the  effect  of  the 
straw  as  a  barrier  to  stop  the  drifting  soil  was 
shown  in  another  field  of  160  acres  of  wheat.  In 
this  field,  straw  had  been  spread  in  a  narrow  strip 
five  or  six  rods -wide,  extending  east  and  west 
across  the  field,  and  had  been  packed  into  the 
soil  with  the  subsurface  packer.  The  north  side 
of  the  field  started  to  blow  and  the  loose  soil 
was  swept  south,  taking  nearly  the  whole  field 
north  of  the  straw-covered  area,  but  here  the 
drifting  soil  lodged  in  the  straw  and  did  little  harm 
to  the  wheat  south  of  this  barrier.  The  subsurface 
packing  alone  without  the  dressing  of  straw  cross- 
wise of  the  drill  rows  early  in  the  spring  also  had 


WHEAT  57 


Fig.  15. — The  Dunham  sub-surface  packer. 

a  beneficial  effect  and  aided  in  preventing  soil 
drifting. 

SHALLOW  FURROW  CULTIVATION 

On  the  same  farm  in  the  spring  of  1912,  I 
stopped  the  soil  from  drifting  on  a  newly  seeded 
alfalfa  field  120  acres  in  area,  by  cultivating  the 
drifting  area  with  a  twelve  shovel  two-row  corn 
cultivator,  cultivating  across  the  wind,  beginning 
on  the  side  towards  the  wind.  The  drifting  was 
stopped  early  in  the  day,  with  a  loss  of  about 
seven  acres  of  alfalfa,  whereas  if  nothing  had  been 
done  to  check  it,  the  drifting  would  have  extended 
over  the  larger  part  of  the  field  during  the  day. 
The  middle  shovel  of  each  gang  of  three  in  the 
cultivator  was  removed.  This  left  the  soil  in 
furrows  and  ridges. 

By  the  same  method  I  have  protected  the  sur- 
face of  a  bare  summer  fallow  by  running  shallow 
furrows  east  and  west  across  the  field.  One 
hundred-eighty  acres  cultivated  in  this  way  late 
in  the  fall  of  1911  did  not  drift  during  the  winter 
and  was  put  into  good  condition  for  seeding 
alfalfa  the  next  spring  by  a  single  cross  harrowing. 
The  shallow  furrows  did  not  loosen  the  seed  bed 
too  deeply. 


58 


WHEAT 


DEEP  FURROWS  WITH  LISTER 

The  best  culture  method  to  prevent  soil  drifting 
on  open,  bare  fields  is  to  list  the  soil  into  deep 
furrows  and  high  ridges,  preferably  running  east 
and  west,  with  the  lister  or  double  mold-board 
plow.  This  condition  offers  almost  complete 
protection  from  soil  drifting.  The  soil  should  be 
listed  when  it  is  not  too  dry  and  loose.  Even 
when  the  soil  is  drifting  on  a  field,  it  may  be 
stopped  by  listing,  unless  it  is  very  loose  and 
sandy,  by  starting  the  lister  on  the  side  towards 
the  wind.  In  the  fall  of  1911,  nearly  600  acres 
were  listed  on  the  Hays  experiment  station  farm, 
including  all  corn  and  kafir  stubble  fields  and  all 
land  which  was  to  be  summer  fallowed  or  planted 
to  intertilled  crops  in  1911.  The  results  were  so 
favorable  that  the  same  plan  was  continued  in 
the  fall  of  1912. 


Fig.  16. — Shallow  furrows  do  not  loosen  the  seed-bed  too 
deeply. 


WHEAT  59 

CHAPTER  V 

WHEAT  SEEDING  AND  CULTIVATION 

Spring  wheat  should  be  sown  as  early  in  the 
spring  as  the  soil  can  be  put  into  favorable  seed 
bed  condition.  It  is  preferable  to  risk  damage  by 
spring  frosts  in  order  to  start  the  wheat  early  and 
thus  hasten  its  maturing,  in  order  that  the  crop 
may  escape  rust  and  unfavorable  weather  con- 
ditions which  are  likely  to  damage  the  grain 
near  harvest  time. 

It  is  difficult  to  name  any  best  date  for  sowing 
fall  wheat,  because  this  will  vary  greatly  for 
different  sections  of  the  country,  and  in  different 
seasons  even  in  the  same  locality.  In  the  more 
northern  areas  of  the  winter  wheat  belt  early 
seeding  is  usually  desirable  in  order  that  the  wheat 
may  make  a  good  start  and  a  good  cover  in  the 
fall,  to  afford  winter  protection.  In  the  warmer 
climates  rather  late  seeding  is  often  preferred 
because  a  too  rank  growth  from  early  seeding  is 
more  apt  to  smother  during  the  winter.  Also  the 
early  seedings  are  liable  to  attack  by  the  Hessian 
fly  which  appears  early  in  the  fall  and  lays  its 
eggs  on  the  early  sown  wheat.  When  it  is  neces- 
sary to  sow  rather  late,  special  care  should  be 
taken  to  have  the  seed  bed  in  ideal  condition  to 
start  the  wheat  quickly,  since  young,  weak  plants 
are  more  likely  to  winter  kill,  and  the  lack  of 
cover  exposes  the  crop  to  damage  by  wind  and 
drifting  soil. 


60  WHEAT 

METHODS  OF  SEEDING 

When  possible  always  sow  wheat  with  a  good 
drill.  Drilling  requires  less  seed  than  broadcasting 
because  the  seeds  are  more  evenly  distributed 
and  more  evenly  covered,  thus  giving  a  more 
uniform  germination.  Drilled  wheat  is  less  likely 
to  winter-kill  because  of  the  stronger  plants,  and 
there  is  a  slight  protection  afforded  by  the  shallow 
furrows.  Many  comparative  tests  at  several 
experiment  stations  have  given  increased  yields 
from  drilling  from  two  to  ten  bushels  per  acre. 

In  the  spring  wheat  states,  wheat  follows  corn 
with  good  results  when  the  seed  bed  may  be  well 
and  cheaply  prepared  simply  by  disking  and  har- 
rowing. Winter  wheat  may  follow  early  potatoes, 
or  other  early  maturing  intertilled  crops  which 
have  been  well  cultivated,  without  plowing.  Also, 
it  is  common  practice  in  Kansas  and  states  farther 
south  to  drill  wheat  with  a  one-horse  drill  in 
standing  corn. 

When  wheat  follows  wheat  or  other  small  grain, 
while  the  general  practice  is  to  plow  or  list  the 
stubble  land  soon  after  harvest  and  prepare  the 
seed  bed  by  giving  the  necessary  surface  cultiva- 
tion, yet  in  parts  of  western  Kansas  and  Nebraska 
many  farmers  disk  in  preparing  the  wheat  seed 
bed  without  plowing,  and  much  wheat  is  simply 
"stubbled  in,"  or  drilled  in  the  stubble  without 
any  cultivation  previous  to  sowing.  This  is  a 
careless  method,  and  yet  where  the  soil  drifts 
badly  it  seems  advisable  to  practice  it  sometimes 
and  not  plow  every  year. 


WHEAT  61 

GRAIN  DRILLS 

For  general  use  the  writer  prefers  a  good  single 
disk  drill.  They  are  the  best  trash  riders,  but  in 
well  prepared  soil  the  double  disk  drill  and  shoe 
drill  may  do  the  better  work,  being  more  readily 
adjusted  to  plant  the  seed  at  a  uniform  depth. 

The  press  drill  is  often  preferred  for  use  in  the 
lighter  soils  and  drier  climate.  The  better  the 
preparation  of  the  seed  bed  and  the  greater  the 
storage  of  moisture  in  the  subsoil,  the  less  neces- 
sary the  press  wheels,  and  if  the  soil  is  wet  and 
sticky  and  apt  to  roll  on  the  wheels  or  crust,  better 
work  may  be  done  with  chain  coverers  than  with 
the  press  wheels.  It  is  an  advantage  to  have  the 
drill  equipped  with  both  chains  and  press  wheels 
and  use  whichever  will  give  the  best  results. 

There  is  an  unquestionable  advantage  in  plant- 
ing corn  in  deep  listed  furrows  in  a  dry  climate, 
and  there  may  be  a  similar  advantage  in  planting 
wheat  in  shallow  listed  furrows,  a  little  deeper 
than  the  furrows  made  by  the  ordinary  drill. 
Listing  drills  are  now  being  manufactured  and 
are  used  to  a  limited  extent.  The  writer  is  not 
familiar  with  the  results  of  their  use  but  would 
recommend  them  for  trial.  In  dry  farming  areas 
which  are  not  likely  to  receive  heavy  rains  after 
sowing,  and  where  the  soil  is  light  and  inclined  to 
blow,  seeding  with  a  listing  drill  should  give  an 
advantage  over  the  ordinary  method. 

THICKNESS  OF  SEEDING 

It  is  usual  to  sow  wheat  in  drills  six  inches 
apart.  However  in  the  dry  climates  a  greater 


62  WHEAT 

space  between  drills,  seven  to  eight  inches,  and 
even  wider  space  is  often  preferred.  The  practice 
of  planting  wheat  in  rows  in  semi-arid  areas, 
eighteen  to  twenty-four  inches  apart,  and  cul- 
tivating the  crop  has  not  given  profitable  results. 
There  is  a  disadvantage  in  planting  the  drills  too 
far  apart  because  the  wide  spaces  allow  the  growth 
of  weeds  and  the  wheat  does  not  make  so  good  a 
covering  in  its  early  growth,  favoring  soil  drifting 
in  windy  climates.  The  proper  thickness  of  stand 
should  be  secured  by  planting  the  seed  thinner 
in  the  drill  rows  rather  than  to  make  the  space 
between  drills  wider  than  six  or  seven  inches. 
Comparative  tests  have  usually  favored  planting 
in  the  closer  drills.  The  amount  of  seed  required 
to  sow  an  acre  varies  from  two  to  three  pecks 
in  the  dry  farming  area  to  six  to  eight  pecks  in 
the  more  humid  climates. 

DEPTH  OF  SEEDING 

Wheat  should  not  be  covered  too  deeply.     A 
usual  depth  of  drilling  is  two  to  three  inches.    To 


Fig.  17. — Drilling  in  wheat  with  a  tractor. 


WHEAT  63 

secure  ideal  conditions  for  germination  the  seed 
should  be  deposited  in  the  bottom  of  the  drill 
furrow  or  against  the  firm  soil  which  will  supply 
moisture  to  swell  and  sprout  the  seed  and  give 
a  favorable  environment  for  the  young  roots. 
Thus  the  surface  of  the  seed  bed  should  not  be 
loosened  too  deeply  or  too  near  seeding  time. 

If  the  surface  is  loose  and  dry  and  there  is 
moisture  beneath,  it  may  be  better  to  deposit 
the  seed  against  the  firm  soil  even  at  a  depth  of 
four  or  five  inches  rather  than  to  deposit  it  near 
the  surface  of  the  loose,  ashy  bed  where  it  will  be 
entirely  dependent  upon  rain  to  sprout  and  grow. 
In  a  wet  season  shallow  seeding  in  a  deep,  loose 
seed  bed  may  give  good  results,  but  it  is  better 
to  prepare  a  proper  seed  bed. 

WINTER  KILLING 

Winter  killing  of  wheat  occurs  frequently 
throughout  the  northern  and  middle  portions  of 
the  winter  wheat  belt,  and  is  often  a  source  of 
great  loss  and  inconvenience.  Wheat  winter 
kills  in  several  ways: 

1.  It  may  not  be  hardy  enough  to  withstand 
the  extreme  cold  of  severe  winter  weather. 

2.  Late  sown  wheat  or  weak  plants  may  die 
for  lack  of  moisture  in  a  dry,  open  winter.    Even 
a  good  stand  of  wheat  may  be  destroyed  by  such 
unfavorable  conditions,  especially  if  planted  in  a 
loose  seed  bed  which  was  not  well  stored  with 
moisture. 

3.  The  grain  may  smother  under  a  covering 
of  ice  or  closely  packed,  icy  snow.    A  heavy  fall 


64 


WHEAT 


growth  from  early  seeding  is  more  apt  to  smother 
than  later  sown  wheat  or  wheat  which  has  been 
fall  pastured. 

4.  The  most  common  kind  of  winter  killing 
is  caused  by  soil  heaving,  due  to  the  alternate 
freezing  and  thawing  of  very  wet  soils,  which 
gradually  lifts  the  plants,  exposes  the  roots  and 
finally  raising  the  plants  entirely  clear  of  the  soil, 
breaks  the  roots  completely  destroying  the  crop. 
Such  winter  killing  is  more  likely  to  occur  on  poorly 
drained,  heavy,  sticky  soils  that  remain  wet  at 
the  surface  than  on  soils  of  a  more  sandy  or  loamy 
character.  Soil  heaving  is  most  likely  to  occur 
late  in  the  winter  or  early  in  the  spring,  but  it 
may  occur  earlier  in  the  winter,  during  a  period  of 
open  weather  when  thejsurface  soil  is  wet. 


Fig.  18. — A  successful  cement,  home-made  roller. 


WHEAT  65 

MEASURES  TO  PREVENT  WINTER  KILLING 

Very  little  can  be  done  to  prevent  winter  killing 
when  the  unfavorable  conditions  are  present,  but 
there  is  more  or  less  tendency  to  winter  killing 
that  may  be,  in  a  measure,  prevented  by  making 
the  growing  conditions  for  the  wheat  as  favorable 
as  possible.  Naturally  wet  land  should  be  drained. 
A  well  pulverized,  well  settled  seed  bed  may  not 
heave  so  much  as  a  loose  seed  bed  and  the  wheat 
will  not  "freeze  out"  or  dry  out  so  quickly  in  a 
firm  soil,  hence  careful  preparation  of  the  seed 
bed  is  a  partial  preventive.  Other  preventive 
measures  are  medium  sowing  (not  too  late  or  too 
early),  pasturing  a  rank  fall  growth,  and  providing 
wind  breaks  or  shelter  belts  to  break  the  wind 
and  catch  the  snow.  Wheat  seldom  winter  kills 
if  it  has  a  good  covering  of  snow  all  winter. 
Rolling  the  wheat  early  in  the  spring  to  firm  the 
soil  about  the  roots  will  often  give  much  benefit 
if  the  heaving  has  not  progressed  too  far. 

Some  varieties  of  winter  wheat  are  much  hardier 
than  others  to  resist  winter  killing,  as  shown  by 
the  trials  at  our  state  experiment  stations,  and 
only  such  should  be  sown,  Avoid  bringing  seed 
wheat  from  the  south  for  seeding  in  northern 
sections,  since  it  will  usually  prove  less  hardy 
than  northern  grown  seed. 

CULTIVATION  AFTER  SEEDING 

The  proper  preparation  of  the  seed  bed  is  a 
much  more  important  factor  in  the  growing  of 
small  grains  than  the  cultivation  after  seeding. 

5 


66 


WHEAT 


It  is  seldom  necessary  to  cultivate  the  wheat 
seed  bed  after  seeding.  The  necessary  cultivation 
to  cover  the  seed  should  be  given  the  broadcasted 
field.  In  the  growing  of  wheat  the  preparation 
of  a  favorable  seed  bed  should  leave  the  soil  mellow 
at  the  surface.  There  are  usually  no  heavy 
showers  in  the  fall  after  the  wheat  is  sown  or 
early  in  the  spring,  the  wheat  grows  rapidly,  and 
by  stooling  soon  covers  the  ground  and  protects 
the  soil  from  beating  rains.  Thus  wheat  needs 
less  cultivation  after  planting  to  maintain  the  soil 
mulch  than  is  required  by  corn  or  other  intertilled 
crops. 

After  the  wheat  is  up  several  inches  and  begin- 
ning to  stool  it  may  sometimes  be  harrowed 
with  a  light  harrow  or  "weeder"  to  break  a  crust 


Fig.  19. — With  a  gang  of  harrows  one  man  can  cover  eighty 
acres  a'day. 


WHEAT  67 

formed  by  heavy  rains,  but  care  should  be  taken 
not  to  loosen  the  soil  too  deeply  so  as  to  disturb 
or  loosen  the  roots  of  the  plants.  The  harrowing 
of  young  grain  by  covering  the  slender  blades, 
may  injure  the  stand. 

The  results  of  experiment  station  trials  in  har- 
rowing wheat  have  not  always  been  favorable. 
Winter  wheat  may  often  be  rolled  in  the  spring 
with  advantage  when  there  is  much  heaving  of 
soil,  in  order  to  pack  the  soil  about  the  roots. 
Rolling  winter  wheat  in  the  spring  at  the  Nebraska 
experiment  station  (Lincoln)  increased  the  yield  of 
grain  five  bushels  per  acre  as  an  average  for  five 
years.  In  a  windy  climate  it  is  dangerous  to  roll 
wheat  as  the  smooth,  pulverized  surface  soil  left  by 
rolling  will  drift,  and  destroy  the  crop  and  waste 
the  soil.  The  writer  has  used  the  subsurface 
packer  in  place  of  the  roller  at  the  Fort  Hays 
experiment  station  in  Kansas  with  good  results. 
The  subsurface  packer  presses  the  soil  about  the 
wheat  roots  and  leaves  the  surface  slightly  fur- 
rowed, which  tends  to  resist  soil  drifting. 

PASTURING  WHEAT 

It  is  a  common  practice  to  pasture  winter  wheat, 
and  when  done  judiciously  there  may  be  no  reduc- 
tion in  yield.  In  fact,  aside  from  the  pasturage 
value  which  is  estimated  at  from  fifty  cents  to 
two  dollars  per  acre,  there  may  result  an  actual 
benefit  to  the  crop  from  pasturing  a  rank  growth 
of  wheat  on  fertile  soil.  The  grazing  reduces  the 
straw  growth  and  may  prevent  winter  smothering 
as  well  as  lodging  and  blighting.  The  firming  of 


WHEAT 


Fig.  20.— Summer-tilled  wheat  field,  North  Platte,  Nebr.  sub- 
station.    Yield,  sixty-seven  bushels  per  acre. 


the  soil  by  the  tramping  of  livestock  may  also 
prove  an  advantage  on  light  land,  or  on  a  seed 
bed  which  was  not  well  settled  before  seeding. 
A  weak  growth  of  wheat  should  not  usually  be 
pastured  since  the  grazing  will  tend  to  reduce  the 
vitality  of  the  grain  still  more  and  result  in  a 
decreased  yield. 

Wheat  may  be  pastured  in  the  fall  and  early 
spring  when  the  soil  is  not  too  wet  or  too  dry. 
Very  dry  soil  becomes  pulverized  and  dusty  by 
the  tramping  of  stock,  and  soil  drifting  results. 
The  tramping  of  very  wet  soil  causes  it  to  "poach  " 
and  puddle  and  the  stand  of  wheat  is  likely  to  be 
injured.  Too  late  pasturing  in  the  spring  retards 
the  growth  of  the  wheat  and  reduces  the  yield. 
At  the  Kansas  experiment  station,  pasturing 
wheat  on  land  of  average  fertility  decreased  the 


WHEAT 


69 


yield  three  bushels  per  acre  as  an  average  for 
several  trials. 

SPRING  MOWING 

When  it  cannot  be  pastured,  mowing  a  very 
rank  growth  of  wheat  on  fertile  soil,  early  in  the 
spring  before  it  begins  to  shoot,  will  reduce  the 
foliage  growth  and  may  prevent  lodging  and  result 
in  an  increased  yield.  The  writer  has  practiced 
this  method  with  good  results  at  the  Kansas 
experiment  station.  If  the  growth  is  not  too 
heavy,  it  may  be  left  on  the  ground  or  the  green 
wheat  gathered  for  ensilage. 


70  WHEAT 

CHAPTER  VI 
HARVEST  AND  YIELD 

THE  AVERAGE  YIELD 

Because  of  the  relatively  high  price  of  the  grain 
and  the  relatively  low  cost  of  production  a  good 
field  of  wheat  is  one  of  the  best  paying  of  farm 
crops.  The  yields  are  sometimes  very  large.  The 
writer  has  produced  a  yield  of  sixty  bushels  of 
Turkey  wheat  per  acre  at  the  Kansas  experiment 
station,  not  only  in  small  plots  but  in  a  large 
field.  Even  larger  yields  have  been  reported  in 
Kansas  and  in  the  Palouse  country  in  Oregon, 
where  yields  of  seventy  bushels  per  acre  have  been 
secured.  Yet  in  spite  of  the  great  producing 
capacity  of  wheat  under  favorable  conditions,  the 
average  yield  in  the  United  States  is  less  than 
fourteen  bushels  per  acre.  Compare  this  with  the 
average  yields  of  wheat  for  the  last  decade  in 
several  European  countries  —  Germany  twenty- 
nine  bushels,  Great  Britain  thirty-three  bushels 
and  Denmark  forty  bushels  per  acre,  and  we  will 
see  that  the  yields  in  the  United  States  may  be 
and  should  be  greatly  increased. 


The  low  average  yield  of  wheat  in  the  United 
States  is  due  to  two  primary  causes  —  poor  farming 
and  damage  to  the  crops  by  the  elements.  Much 
wheat  is  very  carelessly  planted.  The  farmer  is 
continuously  up  against  the  problems  of  a  decreas- 
ing soil  fertility  and  a  consequently  decreasing 


£ 


72  WHEAT 

productivity.  The  wheat  crop  is  very  susceptible 
to  injury  from  unfavorable  weather  conditions 
at  almost  every  stage  in  its  growth.  Dry  weather 
at  seeding  time  may  cause  a  thin  stand,  or  the 
grain  may  blow  out  or  winter  kill  or  be  injured 
by  drouth  and  hot  winds  almost  up  to  the  ma- 
turity stage;  or  it  may  be  damaged  by  hail  or 
lodged  by  storms  and  wind  either  before  or  after 
maturing,  and  even  after  harvesting  it  is  liable 
to  be  damaged  by  wetting  in  the  shock,  causing 
bleaching  and  sprouting,  thus  reducing  the  yield 
and  injuring  the  quality  of  the  grain. 

DATE  AND  METHOD  OF  HARVESTING 

The  wheat  harvest  of  the  United  States  begins 
in  Texas  in  May  and  ends  in  North  Dakota  in 
August.  In  California  the  harvest  begins  about 
June  first  and  continues  nearly  two  months.  East 
of  the  great  plains,  wheat  is  cut  as  soon  as  it  is 
ripe  or  a  little  before,  the  harvest  extending  us- 
ually over  a  period  of  only  a  week  or  two  weeks 
on  a  single  farm.  The  grain  is  bound  into  bundles 
with  a  self  binder,  and  placed  in  small  shocks  in 
the  field;  and  later  when  it  is  dry  enough  it  is 
hauled  directly  to  the  thresher,  or  more  often  put 
into  stacks  or  barns  and  threshed  later. 

THE  HEADER 

In  the  western  plains  the  common  method  of 
harvesting  is  with  the  header.  The  wheat  is 
allowed  to  stand  until  fully  ripe,  when  the  heading 
begins  and  the  headed  grain  is  loaded  loosely 
into  barges  and  hauled  directly  to  the  stacks, 


WHEAT 


Fig.  22. — Harvesting  wheat  with  a  header  in  western 
Kansas. 


which  are  arranged  in  regular  groups  or  "settings" 
of  two  to  four  stacks,  usually  ten  acres  to  a 
"setting."  In  the  western  states  the  harvest 
may  continue  for  a  month  or  six  weeks  on  a  single 
farm .  This  method  of  harvesting  is  rapid  and  econ- 
omical and  is  well  adapted  to  a  dry  climate,  but  often 
the  over-ripe  wheat  shatters  and  is  damaged  by 
storms  and  deteriorates  in  quality.  In  the  eastern 
part  of  the  dry  farming  belt  the  binder  and  the 
header  are  often  both  used  on  the  same  farm, 
thus  making  it  possible  to  harvest  more  of  the 
grain  in  prime  condition. 

THE  COMBINE 

On  the  Pacific  coast  where  there  is  no  danger 
from  rains,  the  harvest  lasts  for  several  weeks 
or  months,  and  the  wheat  does  not  usually  deter- 


74  WHEAT 

iorate  in  quality  in  the  field.  It  is  sometimes  dam- 
aged by  sand  storms.  The  club  or  square  head 
wheat  is  the  type  generally  grown,  and  its 
short  straw  and  tight  glumes  prevent  lodging 
and  shattering.  On  the  great  wheat  fields  of 
California  and  Oregon  the  "combine"  is  used, 
which  harvests  and  threshes  the  wheat  at  a  single 
operation,  the  grain  being  sacked  and  left  in  long 
trains  in  the  field  or  later  placed  in  large  piles, 
from  which  it  is  hauled  and  loaded  directly  onto  the 
cars  for  shipping.  The  relative  harvesting  capa- 
city of  the  different  machines  and  methods  may 
be  compared  as  follows: 

Width     of    Swath    Harvesting    Capacity 
Machine  in  Feet  per  Day  in  Acres 


Binder 5  to  8   10  to  20 

Header 8  to  14 20  to  30 

Horse  combine.  ..  16  to  20 25  to  45 

Steam  combine. .  .  24  to  42 .  .  .  .  75  to  125 


The  average  price  of  a  steam  "combine"  outfit 
is  $7,500.00.  They  are  used  almost  exclusively 
on  the  Pacific  coast,  and  only  on  the  larger  farms 
containing  from  3,000  to  20,000  acres  of  land. 
The  horse  "combine"  is  most  advantageously 
used  on  the  smaller  farms  having  less  than  3,000 
acres. 

BEST  STATE  OF  MATURITY  TO  HARVEST 

Wheat  makes  the  largest  yield  and  best  quality 
of  grain  if  harvested  with  the  binder  when  it  is 
just  about  fully  ripe  when  the  straw  has  mostly 
turned  yellow  and  the  grains  are  quite  hard  or 
in  the  hard  dough  stage.  Wheat  cut  immature 


WHEAT  .  .        75 

is  apt  to  become  shrunken,  making  a  decreased 
yield  and  lighter  weight  per  bushel,  and  it  is  less 
strong  in  vitality  than  plump  wheat;  but  by 
careful  grading  it  will  usually  make  good  seed, 
and  if  not  too  light,  may  make  good  flour.  It  is 
a  good  practice  in  humid  regions  to  begin  harvest- 
ing before  the  grain  is  fully  ripe  because  as  soon 
as  the  wheat  is  over-ripe  it  may  be  injured  by 
storms  and  by  rain  which  may  lodge  the  grain 
or  bleach  it  and  cause  it  to  deteriorate  in  quality 
and  vitality,  and  the  yield  is  likely  to  be  reduced 
by  shattering.  In  cutting  with  the  header  it  is 
necessary  to  wait  until  the  grain  is  dry  enough 
to  stack  without  danger  of  heating  and  spoiling. 
The  binder  may  often  be  started  a  week  or  ten 
days  before  the  header. 

SHOCKING 

Perhaps  more  wheat  is  injured  in  quality  after 
harvest  by  unfavorable  weather  and  careless 
handling  than  from  any  other  cause.  Some 
farmers  are  not  only  careless  but  absolutely 
neglectful  in  this  respect.  If  the  wheat  is  cut  a 
little  green,  prompt  shocking  facilitates  the  com- 
pletion of  the  ripening  process,  favoring  the  trans- 
fer of  the  material  from  the  straw  to  the  grain, 
which  prevents  shrinkage;  also  the  sheaves  may 
be  set  up  in  better  shocks  if  the  straw  is  not  al- 
lowed to  become  too  dry  and  fluffy  and  brittle. 

Whether  to  cap  shocks  or  leave  them  uncapped 
is  a  question.  Unless  wheat  is  well  set  up  and 
the  shocks  carefully  capped,  the  caps  are  apt  to 
blow  off  and  the  grain  will  then  become  more 


76  WHEAT 

exposed  than  if  the  bundles  were  originally  set 
in  open  shocks.  The  writer  prefers  to  carefully 
shock  and  cap  in  humid  climates  rather  than  to 
set  in  long  shocks  or  round  shocks  without  caps. 
It  may  be  necessary  to  go  over  the  field  after  a 
wind  storm  and  replace  the  caps  that  have  blown 
off. 

KINDS  OF  SHOCKS 

Long  shocks  are  made  by  placing  pairs  of 
sheaves  in  a  row,  about  twelve  bundles  in  a  shock, 
setting  them  down  firmly  and  not  too  sloping,  a 
pair  at  a  time,  and  bracing  the  bundles  against 
each  other.  Place  the  pairs  alternating  at  each 
end  to  keep  the  shock  plumb  and  regular.  The 
outer  pairs  of  bundles  should  slope  slightly 
towards  the  inner  pairs  in  order  to  brace  the 
shock.  A  round  shock  with  caps  should  contain 
from  twelve  to  sixteen  bundles.  The  writer  pre- 
fers rather  large  round  shocks  if  the  grain  is  not 
too  green,  as  they  stand  better.  In  building  a 
round  shock  of  sixteen  bundles,  place  four  pairs 
in  a  row,  then  place  three  bundles  on  each  side 
and  cap  with  two  bundles.  After  the  tops  of  the 
sheaves  have  been  drawn  somewhat  together  lay 
one  bundle  on  the  top  of  the  shock  at  right  angles 
to  the  prevailing  winds,  then  break  the  second 
cap  sheaf  at  the  band,  and  spreading  the  ends 
fan-shape  lay  it  cross-wise  of  the  first  cap  with 
the  tops  towards  the  prevailing  wind. 

Both  for  efficiency  and  economy  of  time  two 
bundles  should  be  handled  at  once.  Shocking  is 
a  man's  job.  There  is  a  knack  about  it  that  may 


WHEAT  77 

be  easily  learned  by  practice,  but  the  average 
hired  harvest  hand  is  usually  a  poor  shocker.  In 
windy,  dry  climates  as  in  our  western  plains, 
where  storms  may  be  severe  but  with  no  great 
amount  of  rain,  it  may  be  advisable  to  build  a 
round  shock  without  caps  something  after  the 
manner  of  a  miniature  stack.  Lay  one  bundle 
on  the  ground  and  break  the  top  back  to  keep  the 
heads  off  the  ground;  set  two  others  over  this 
one  at  right  angles,  with  heads  crossing.  Now 
fill  in  the  angles  with  other  bundles  thus  thatching 
the  shock  and  bringing  the  top  of  the  last  bundle 
over  the  heads  of  the  others  until  nine  to  thirteen 
bundles  have  been  placed  in  the  shock.  The  bun- 
dles should  all  stand  quite  sloping.  Such  a  shock 
will  shed  rain  well  and  will  not  blow  over. 

STACKING 

In  parts  of  our  wheat  growing  areas,  bundle 
stacking  is  almost  a  lost  art  because  of  the  present 
day  practice  of  threshing  out  of  the  shock.  In 
the  writer's  judgment,  this  is  a  mistake.  There 
may  not  be  any  economy  in  stacking  if  the  thresh- 
ing can  be  done  early  and  as  soon  as  the  grain 
is  dry  enough,  but  this  is  not  usually  the  case. 
Many  farmers  are  obliged  to  leave  their  grain  in 
the  field  for  several  weeks  or  months,  until  the 
thresher  can  make  the  rounds  of  several  other 
farms,  and  if  unfavorable  weather  intervenes  the 
grain  may  be  badly  damaged;  while,  if  such  grain 
could  be  stacked  in  well  made  stacks  just  when 
it  is  in  prime  condition,  it  would  mean  a  great 
saving  of  grain  and  the  extra  labor  would  be 


78  WHEAT 

a  profitable  investment  for  the  farmer.  On  the 
other  hand,  grain  that  is  carelessly  stacked  may 
be  badly  damaged  by  heavy  rains  wetting  the 
stacks;  but  if  the  stacks  are  well  and  properly 
made  such  damage  should  not  occur. 

HOW  TO  BEGIN  A  STACK 

In  starting  a  bundle  stack,  whether  round  or 
elongated,  the  bundles  should  be  set  up  in  the 
form  of  a  large  shock  beginning  at  the  middle  of 
the  stack  and  setting  the  bundles  in  regular  order 
until  the  confines  of  the  stack  are  reached,  about 
ten  feet  in  diameter  for  a  round  stack  and  ten 
feet  wide  for  a  rick.  Then  beginning  at  the  edge, 
lay  a  double  tier  of  bundles  around  the  whole 
stack,  the  butts  of  the  first  row  reaching  the 
ground,  with  the  butts  of  the  second  row  just 
flush  with  the  butts  of  the  first  row.  Now  lay 
a  single  row  with  the  butts  reaching  a  little  past 
the  bands  of  the  first  row,  and  continue  this 
method,  laying  row  after  row  around  the  stack 
until  the  center  is  reached.  The  rows  of  bundles 
may  be  lapped  a  little  more  toward  the  middle 
of  the  stack  in  order  to  keep  the  middle  full, 
always  having  a  good  slope  towards  the  edge  of 
the  stack.  Starting  again  at  the  edge  of  the  stack 
lay  the  first  row  of  bundles  with  the  butts  flush 
with  the  original  first  row  or  extending  a  trifle, 
and  then  work  toward  the  middle  of  the  stack 
as  before. 

HOW  TO  BUILD  AND  COMPLETE  A  STACK 

At  the  third  round,  extend  the  butts  of  the 


WHEAT  79 

outside  row  a  few  inches  beyond  the  butts  of  the 
row  beneath,  and  continue  thus  as  succeeding 
tiers  and  rows  are  placed,  "laying  out  the  stack," 
always  keeping  the  middle  full,  until  the  stack  is 
seven  or  eight  feet  high.  This  forms  the  bulge. 
Now  begin  to  draw  in  the  outside  rows  a  few  inches 
at  each  round,  thus  finally  bringing  the  stack  to  a 
narrow  top  made  by  the  lapping  of  the  last  rows 
of  bundles  which  should  be  tied  down  by  driving 
sharpened  sticks  four  to  five  feet  into  the  top  of 
the  stack.  The  bulge  should  extend  two  to  three 
feet  beyond  the  base,  which  will  make  a  stack 
with  a  ten  foot  base,  fourteen  to  sixteen  feet  wide 
at  the  bulge.  Do  not  tramp  the  outside  rows  of 
bundles.  Pitch  from  both  sides  of  the  stack  if 
possible.  Each  successive  tier  of  bundles  should 
thatch  the  preceding  one,  much  the  same  as  the 
shingles  on  a  roof.  Take  considerable  care  as 
regards  thatching  above  the  bulge.  By  proper 
stacking,  the  grain  below  the  bulge  should  be 
entirely  protected  from  wetting. 


Fig.  24. — A  good  job  of  stacking. 


80  WHEAT 

THE  SECRET  OF  GOOD  STACKING 

The  secret  of  good  stacking  is  to  keep  the 
middle  full  so  that  when  the  stack  settles  the 
bundles  will  slope  towards  the  butts  and  towards 
the  outside  of  the  stack.  Also  the  stack  must  be 
built  plumb  and  regular.  It  is  a  job  which  requires 
some  practice  and  considerable  care,  and  a  good 
stacker  may  well  command  an  extra  wage  for 
such  work. 

In  stacking  loose  grain  from  the  header,  the 
same  principle  holds  that  the  middle  of  the  stack 
must  be  kept  full  and  well  tramped.  The  sides 
of  the  stack  should  be  raked  to  remove  the  loose 
straw,  and  hangers  should  be  placed  as  soon  as  the 
stack  is  completed  to  prevent  the  wind  blowing 
off  the  top  which  is  likely  to  occur  in  the  first 
storm  unless  the  top  is  tied  down. 


>'    <     ,  $       .    .\  .""' 


WHEAT  81 

CHAPTER  VII 

THRESHING  AND  MARKETING 

Threshing  directly  from  the  shock  is  perhaps 
the  best  and  most  economical  method,  if  the 
threshing  can  be  done  early,  as  soon  as  the  grain 
is  dry  and  in  good  condition.  Grain  threshed  from 
the  shock  will  go  through  the  sweat  in  the  bin, 
but  unless  threshed  damp  it  will  not  heat  enough 
to  injure  the  quality  of  the  grain;  in  fact,  a  little 
heating  may  be  desirable  as  it  will  give  the  grain 
a  darker,  richer  color.  When  the  grain  is  stacked 
it  should  be  allowed  to  go  through  the  sweat 
before  threshing.  If  threshed  and  put  into  a  dry 
bin  it  may  not  sweat,  since  the  sweating  process 
requires  that  grain  contain  some  excess  moisture. 
Sweating  may  not  be  necessary  for  producing 
a  good  quality  of  grain,  but  it  is  desirable  that 
wheat  contain  enough  moisture  when  it  is  stacked 
or  threshed  to  cause  it  to  sweat;  otherwise  it  will 
handle  badly,  shattering  during  the  stacking  or 
cracking  during  the  threshing.  Do  not  stack  or 
thresh  when  the  grain  is  too  damp,  since  such 
grain  may  heat  too  much  or  become  stack-burned 
or  bin-burned  and  thus  injured  in  quality  and 
value,  while  its  vitality  for  seed  may  be  entirely 
destroyed.  Also  there  may  be  considerable  loss 
in  threshing  too  damp  or  too  tough  grain,  since 
all  the  grain  may  not  be  removed  from  the  straw. 

MARKETING 

Much  grain  is  now  hauled  directly  to  the  ele- 
vator from  the  threshing  machine  and  sold  or 
6 


82  WHEAT 

stored  for  future  sale.  If  the  price  is  relatively 
high  at  threshing  time  it  is  usually  advisable  to  sell 
at  once.  Often  the  price  is  high  when  threshing 
first  begins  but  decreases  as  the  supply  of  grain 
increases.  The  present  tendency  of  rushing  the 
grain  to  market  at  threshing  time  often  results 
in  glutting  the  market  and  lowering  the  price 
below  normal ;  and  also  the  railroads  and  elevators 
are  unable  to  handle  the  large  quantities  of  grain 
properly.  It  would  be  better  if  more  grain  were 
stored  in  good  bins  on  the  farms  and  hauled  to  the 
market  at  an  opportune  time.  This  plan  would 
tend  to  keep  the  market  more  steady  and  allow 
for  the  grain  to  be  handled  in  better  condition 
and  more  economically. 

SHRINKAGE  AND  STORAGE 

The  shrinkage  of  dry  wheat,  as  threshed  and 
placed  in  the  bin,  is  very  small  and  will  seldom 
amount  to  2%.  One  percent  is  an  average  shrink- 
age for  six  months,  and  after  the  first  loss  of  excess 
moisture,  the  grain  should  not  decrease  in  weight 
even  by  longer  storing,  except  as  it  may  be  in- 
jured by  insect  or  animal  pests.  In  the  warmer 
climates,  grain  stored  for  several  months  is  likely 
to  be  attacked  by  weevil  and  often  severely 
damaged.  Hence  as  a  rule  it  is  not  advisable  to 
hold  wheat  over  during  the  summer  in  Kansas 
and  states  farther  south,  unless  due  precaution 
is  taken  to  prevent  weevil  damage. 

The  farmer  should  take  into  consideration  the 
cost  of  storage  in  making  his  decision  whether  to 
sell  or  not  at  threshing  time.  This  cost,  including 


WHEAT 


83 


84  WHEAT 

the  storage  charges,  the  natural  shrinkage  in 
weight,  the  insurance  against  loss  by  fire  and  cy- 
clone, the  interest  on  the  money  represented  by 
the  value  of  the  wheat  and  the  extra  cost  of 
handling  the  grain,  may  amount  to  from  five  to 
ten  cents  per  bushel  depending  on  the  length  of 
time  of  storage.  Thus  eighty  to  eighty-five  cents 
per  bushel  at  threshing  time  may  be  better  than 
ninety  cents  six  months  later. 

THE  PRICE  OF  WHEAT 

The  market  price  of  wheat  is  normally  deter- 
mined by  the  world's  conditions  of  supply  and 
demand.  The  United  States  produces  more  wheat 
than  is  required  for  local  consumption,  therefore 
the  price  is  fixed  by  the  country  which  buys  the 
export,  but  such  price  should  under  normal  con- 
ditions be  higher  than  the  surplus  producing 
country  could  fix  for  itself.  Hence  the  export 
price  is  a  benefit  to  the  wheat  grower. 

TRICKS  OF  THE  TRADE 

It  is  true  that  with  a  large,  visible  supply  of 
wheat  in  a  certain  section  the  tendency  is  to 
depress  the  local  price  at  threshing  time  when  the 
bulk  of  the  crop  is  sold,  but  this  is  a  "  trick  of  the 
trade "  on  the  part  of  the  buyers,  due  in  part  to 
the  congested  condition  and  the  impression 
which  the  farmer  receives  that  the  supply  is 
greater  than  the  demand.  The  true  market  price 
of  wheat  is  always  established  by  the  world's 
supply  and  not  by  the  crop  of  any  one  state  or 
locality. 


WHEAT  85 

Under  the  present  conditions  of  trade  by  in- 
dividuals or  corporations,  the  local  price  of  wheat 
depends  largely  on  competition.  For  example, 
two  cents  less  per  bushel  was  paid  for  wheat  at 
a  non-competitive  point  in  North  Dakota  than 
at  competitive  points  only  six  miles  distant.  When 
the  local  elevator  systems  combine,  the  only  effec- 
tive remedy  is  for  the  farmers  to  combine  and 
start  independent  elevators,  and  secure  the  aid 
of  the  law  if  necessary  to  get  their  wheat  shipped 
to  the  primary  markets.  The  matter  of  marketing 
and  securing  the  highest  market  price  is  an  im- 
portant part  of  the  wheat  raising  business,  and 
will  receive  much  more  attention  and  considera- 
tion in  the  future  than  it  has  in  the  past. 

COMMERCIAL  GRADING  OF  WHEAT 

The  value  of  wheat  varies  with  its  quality  and 
with  the  purpose  for  which  it  is  to  be  used.  The 
principal  characteristics  which  aid  in  fixing  the 
grade  are  weight  per  bushel,  plumpness,  soundness, 
color,  and  freedom  from  smut,  foreign  matter  and 
from  mixture-  with  a  different  type  of  wheat. 
Since  gradations  are  continuous,  it  is  difficult  to 
draw  the  line,  hence  grading  requirements  are 
not  very  definite  and  are  often  largely  a  matter 
of  judgment  by  the  grain  inspector.  The  com- 
mercial classes  vary  somewhat  in  the  different 
markets.  The  general  classes  on  the  Chicago 
market  are:  White  Winter  Wheat,  Red  Winter 
Wheat,  Hard  Winter  Wheat,  Northern  Spring 
Wheat,  Spring  Wheat,  White  Spring  Wheat  and 
Colorado  Wheat.  Each  class  has  from  two  to 


86  WHEAT 

four  regular  grades,  and  wheat  may  be  of  such 
poor  quality  as  to  be  graded  "rejected"  or  "no 
grade." 

INSPECTION  AND  SUPERVISION 

The  rules  for  grading  grain  are  fixed  by  boards 
of  grain  inspectors  in  the  several  states  where  the 
great  markets  are  located.  These  rules  are  pub- 
lished and  may  be  secured  from  the  chairmen  of 
said  boards,  or  from  almost  any  grain  dealer.  In  all 
the  great  markets  there  is  a  rigid  system  of  grain 
inspection  and  grain  grading  under  state  super- 
vision and  control  which  greatly  facilitates  the 
movement  of  wheat  and  reduces  fraud  and  unfair- 
ness in  the  grain  trade.  State  weighing  depart- 
ments have  been  established  at  the  great  terminals 
in  several  states,  by  which  all  the  wheat  is  now 
officially  weighed,  and  the  cheating  by  false  weigh- 
ing which  was  formerly  notorious  has  been  prac- 
tically done  away  with. 

LOCAL  GRAIN  INSPECTION 

There  is  much  less  organization  and  control 
of  the  handling  of  grain  at  the  local  elevators 
than  at  the  terminals.  The  correctness  of  the 
weighing  and  the  grading,  and  the  fairness  of  the 
price  of  wheat  at  the  local  elevator  depend  largely 
on  local  competition  and  on  the  honesty  of  the 
grain  dealer.  As  a  rule,  the  local  buyer  is  honest 
in  the  weighing.  Fraudulent  weighing  is  very 
much  condemned  by  all  grain  dealers  associations, 
and  usually  competition  compels  the  dealer  to  pay 
all  the  market  will  allow. 


WHEAT  87 

The  local  dealer  often  gives  too  little  considera- 
tion to  the  actual  quality  of  wheat  in  fixing  the 
local  market  price.  He  learns  about  what  the 
general  run  of  the  wheat  bought  at  his  elevator 
will  grade,  and  he  then  pays  about  the  same  price 
to  each  farmer,  even  though  the  wheat  may 
actually  vary  considerably  in  quality  and  grade. 
The  writer  has  stood  at  a  grain  elevator  in  a 
western  Kansas  town  and  observed  the  delivery  of 
wheat  which  in  his  judgment  should  have  been 
given  three  different  grades,  yet  the  grain  was 
all  graded  No.  2  and  sold  at  the  same  price.  This 
is  not  only  unfair  to  the  farmer  selling  the  better 
grade  of  wheat  but  it  encourages  carelessness  and 
neglect  on  the  part  of  the  producers  in  keeping 
their  grain  pure  and  of  high  quality.  The  grain 
dealer  should  make  it  to  the  advantage  of  the 
farmer  to  sell  a  pure  type  of  wheat  of  high  grade 
by  paying  a  higher  price  for  such  grain,  and  he 
should  advertise  the  fact. 

CO-OPERATION  THE  SOLUTION  OF  THE  PROBLEM 

The  establishment  of  co-operative  grain  ele- 
vators by  the  farmers  has  progressed  rapidly  in 
the  last  ten  years,  and  is  having  a  salutary  effect 
in  maintaining  more  uniform  prices  to  the  pro- 
ducers, but  such  co-operation  considers  one  side 
of  the  problem  only — the  producer's  side.  It  takes 
no  account  of  the  handling  and  distribution  of  the 
grain  and  its  manufacture  into  food  products  and 
their  ultimate  purchase  and  use  by  the  consumer. 
In  recent  years  the  very  high  cost  of  living  is 
calling  attention  to  the  fact  that  our  methods  of 


88  WHEAT 

handling  and  distribution  are  cumbersome  and 
more  expensive  than  they  need  be.  We  need  co- 
operation along  the  whole  line,  and  a  spirit  of 
friendliness  and  fairness  among  all  those  interested 
in  order  that  these  conditions  may  be  improved. 
The  present  condition  calls  for  a  careful  investiga- 
tion and  such  reorganization  of  our  methods  and 
practices  as  may  be  found  necessary  in  order  that 
the  farmers'  products  may  be  more  fully  utilized 
and  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  consumer  without 
unnecessary  waste,  and  at  a  reasonable  cost. 

COST  OF  PRODUCTION* 

The  cost  of  raising  wheat  varies  greatly  in 
different  sections  of  the  United  States.  The  pro- 
duction of  a  bushel  of  wheat  in  Washington  costs 
20  to  35  cents;  in  Oregon,  twenty  cents;  and  in 


Fig.  26. — Wheat  field  on  Burlington  farm,  Holdrege,  Nebr. 
Yield,  52  bushels  per  acre. 


*Data  from  Book  of  Wheat — Dondlinger. 


WHEAT  89 

North  Dakota,  50  to  54  cents.  The  acre  cost, 
including  interest  on  land  and  equipment,  has 
been  computed  since  1900  in  several  states  as 
follows: 

North  Dakota,  $8.28;  Minnesota,  $6.40;  Kan- 
sas, $7.80;  Nebraska,  $8.26;  Washington,  $7.20; 
and  Wyoming,  $10.38.  This  is  an  average  cost 
of  $8.05  per  acre  or  fifty-seven  and  one-half  cents 
per  bushel.  To  raise  a  bushel  of  wheat  in  Russia 
costs  34  to  48  cents;  in  Italy,  sixty-nine  cents; 
in  Hungary,  52  to^63  cents;  in  Germany,  ninety- 
five  cents;  and  in  India,  sixty-five  cents.  The 
acre  cost  is  given  as  $8.00  for  Russia;  $8.29  for 
Argentina;  and  $11.69  for  Hungary. 

The  cost  of  raising  wheat  and  all  kinds  of  small 
grains  has  been  greatly  reduced  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  improved  implements  of  tillage  and  modern 
harvesting  machinery.  To  produce  a  bushel  of 
wheat  in  the  United  States  in  1830  required  183 
minutes  of  human  labor.  In  1896  only  ten 
minutes  were  required.  The  labor  cost  per  bushel 
including  both  animal  and  human  labor  is  stated 
as  twenty  cents  in  1830,  and  only  ten  cents  in 
1896.  The  greatest  saving  has  been  in  the  har- 
vesting. The  human  labor  which  is  still  required 
is  quite  light  compared  with  that  of  1830. 

PROFIT  IN  WHEAT  RAISING 

The  actual  profit  in  raising  wheat,  however,  is 
not  large.  In  a  favorable  season,  bonanza  farmers 
of  the  Red  River  valley  made  a  profit  of  $3.32 
per  acre,  or  8%  on  the  capital  invested.  This 
takes  no  account  of  the  exhaustion  of  soil  fertility. 


90  WHEAT 

To  make  much  profit  it  will  be  seen  that  the  yield 
must  be  increased  above  the  average  fourteen 
bushels  per  acre.  The  cost  of  raising  an  acre  of 
wheat  has  been  greatly  reduced  by  the  introduction 
and  use  of  improved  machinery  and  by  decreasing 
the  labor  cost.  Now  we  must  give  more  attention 
to  decreasing  the  cost  per  bushel  by  increasing 
the  acre  yield.  The  sixty  bushel  yield  which  the 
writer  produced  at  the  Kansas  experiment  station 
in  1906  cost  less  than  fifteen  cents  per  bushel. 

The  price  of  wheat  on  the  market  depends  on 
the  grade.  It  is  therefore  of  great  importance 
that  every  farmer  be  familiar  with  the  methods 
of  scoring  and  grading  grain. 

SCORING  WHEAT 

Judging  and  scoring  of  grains  is  now  a  regular 
part  of  the  course  of  study  in  our  agricultural 
colleges.  The  methods  and  score  cards  used  in 
different  institutions  vary  considerably.  When 
a  sample  of  wheat  is  examined  from  a  "seed 
standpoint,"  purity,  color,  weight,  uniformity, 
quality  and  vitality  are  noted.  From  a  "market 
standpoint,"  weight  and  quality  are  the  main 
points  considered,  but  purity  as  regards  freedom 
from  foreign  substance,  other  grain,  or  other  types 
of  wheat  is  also  given  an  important  place.  The 
weight  of  wheat  is  indicated  by  its  plumpness  and 
dryness.  Damp  grain  or  shrunken  grain  is  light. 
The  quality  relates  not  only  to  the  weight,  the 
soundness  and  dryness  of  the  grain,  but  also  to 
its  composition  or  flour-making  value  as  indicated 
by  the  texture,  hardness  or  softness  of  the  kernel, 
and  the  relative  thicknejss  of  the  hull. 


WHEAT 


91 


SCORE  CARD 

The  score  card  given  below  brings  out  the  points 
mentioned  as  well  as  any  perhaps,  but  the  reader 
is  advised  to  get  in  touch  with  the  agricultural 
college  of  his  own  state  in  order  to  secure  special 
information  which  may  apply  to  the  grading  or 
scoring  of  wheat  in  a  particular  territory  or 
market. 

STUDENT'S  SCORE  CARD* 
WHEAT 

Name  of  variety 


POINTS 

Perfect 
Score 

EXHIBIT   NUMBER 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

TRUENESS  TO  TYPE  OB  BREED  CHARACTER- 
ISTICS: 

10 
5 
5 
5 
5 

15 

10 

5 
5 
15 

15 
5 

3.  Shape  of  kernel  —  conformity  to  standard 
4.  Size  of  kernel  —  conformity  to  standard  . 
5.  Color  —  conformity  to  standard  
6.  Gluten  or  starch.    Amount  of  gluten  is 
indicated    by    the    hardness.      In    soft 
wheats  mark  on  the  per  cent  of  starch  as 
indicated  by  softness  of  berry.     These 
qualities  may  be  judged  approximately 
by  the  color  and  texture  of  the  kernel  .  .  . 

MARKET  CONDITIONS: 
1.  Vitality  and  maturity  as  indicated  by 
plumpness  and  brightness  of  color  (make 

2.  Moisture  content  (make  moisture  deter- 

3.  Freedom  from  smut  

1 

5.  Soundness  or  freedom  from  injury.  No  1 
broken,  rotten,  sprouted,  musty,  bin-  [ 
burnt  or  otherwise  injured  berries          J 
6.  Amount  of  foreign   matter    (determine 

Total                                        









100 

Commercial  Grade  

Student's  Name. 


Date. 


*  Note— This  form  of  score  card,  used  at  the  Kansas  Agricul- 
tural College,  was  prepared  by  the  author. 


92  WHEAT 

CHAPTER  VIII 
WHEAT  ENEMIES 

WEEDS 

Weeds  damage  wheat  both  by  reducing  the 
yield  and  injuring  the  quality  of  the  grain.  The 
most  objectionable  weeds  associated  with  wheat 
fields  are  chess  or  cheat,  wild  oats,  cockle,  wheat- 
thief,  and  wild  mustard.  All  of  these  are  annuals 
and  readily  controlled  by  careful  preparation  of 
the  seed  bed  and  a  proper  rotation  of  crops. 
Weed  pests  become  troublesome  only  where 
wheat  is  grown  continuously  in  the  same  fields. 
The  growth  of  weeds  is  a  protest  of  nature  against 
the  practice  of  continual  grain  cropping.  There 
is  no  remedy  except  rotation  of  crops,  and  clean 
cultivation  or  clean  summer  fallow. 

INJURIOUS  INSECTS 

It  is  impossible  in  this  discussion  to  more  than 
touch  on  this  part  of  the  subject.  The  insects  and 
diseases  which  attack  wheat  often  seriously  injure 
or  destroy  the  crop,  and  in  some  cases  there  is 
little  or  no  means  of  preventing  the  damage. 

CHINCH  BUG  AND  HESSIAN  FLY 

Of  the  insect  enemies  the  chinch  bug  and  the 
Hessian  fly  are  perhaps  the  most  destructive. 
The  remedies  to  stop  their  ravages  are  preventive 
only,  such  as  burning  over  the  stubble  land,  which 
allows  the  chinch  bug  no  cover  for  hibernating, 
and  destroys  the  Hessian  fly,  since  the  insect 


WHEAT 


Fig.  27. — The  Enemies  of  Wheat.— Chinch-bugs  in  different 
stages  of  growth.  A  single  egg  is  shown  in  a,  and  others  on 
the  roots  and  a  lower  leaf;  in  b  is  shown  a  very  young  bug, 
and  in  c,  d,  and  e  the  later  stages,  while  /  shows  the  adult  and 
mature  insect.  The  natural  size  of  the  bugs  is  shown  on  the 
stems  of  the  plant. 


94  WHEAT 

remains  in  the  pupa  stage  in  the  stubble  after 
harvest.  "Trap  crops"  are  sometimes  sown  for 
both  insects,  such  as  patches  of  millet  planted 
early  in  the  spring  to  attract  the  chinch  bug,  and 
the  early  planting  of  wheat  in  the  fall  to  act  as 
a  decoy  to  attract  the  flies.  When  the  bugs  have 
congregated  or  the  flies  have  laid  their  eggs,  these 
crops  may  be  plowed  under,  thus  destroying  the 
insects.  Migrating  chinch  bugs  may  be  kept  out 
of  the  fields  to  some  extent  by  plowing  protecting 
furrows  about  the  fields,  and  making  coal  tar 
barriers,  etc.  Under  certain  favorable  climatic 
conditions  chinch  bugs  may  be  largely  destroyed 
by  fungous  diseases  to  which  they  are  subject. 
The  Hessian  fly  appears  early  in  the  fall,  and  its 
attacks  may  be  avoided  by  late  sowing. 

At  the  Kansas  experiment  station  (Manhattan) 
the  average  of  several  trials  shows  results  favor- 
ing seeding  during  the  last  week  in  September 
or  the  first  week  in  October.  Even  later  seeding 
is  less  affected  by  the  fly,  but  the  very  late  sown 
wheat  is  likely  to  make  a  weak  growth  in  the  fall, 
and  is  more  liable  to  be  winter  killed  than  earlier 
sown  wheat.  Perhaps  one  of  the  best  means  for 
checking  these  insect  pests  and  the  plant  diseases 
which  attack  wheat,  is  to  practice  a  regular  system 
of  crop  rotation.  The  Hessian  fly  can  be  starved 
out  almost  completely  by  the  abandonment  for 
one  year  of  the  crops  in  which  it  breeds — wheat, 
rye  and  barley;  while  if  a  system  of  rotation  with 
corn  be  adopted  that  would  entirely  dissociate 
small  grains  for  a  single  season  very  little  damage 
from  chinch  bugs  would  occur. 


WHEAT  95 

GRAIN  WEEVILS 

There  are  several  species  of  grain  weevils  which 
attack  and  often  severely  damage  stored  wheat. 
The  two  most  common  in  the  United  States  are 
the  granary  weevil,  the  adult  insect  of  which  is 
a  small  snouted  beetle,  and  the  grain  moth  or 
angoumois.  The  larvae  of  these  insects  and  also 
the  beetle  itself  attack  the  wheat  kernels,  devour- 
ing the  mealy  part.  They  develop  and  multiply 
very  rapidly.  The  remedy  is  fumigation  with 
bisulphide  of  carbon,  one  pound  to  one  ton  of  grain 
or  to  1,000  cubic  feet  of  empty  space.  Hydro- 
cyanic acid  gas  is  used  for  fumigating  mills  and 
large  grain  elevators.  Naphthaline  is  the  most 
effective  preventive. 

FUNGOUS  DISEASES— RUST  AND  SMUT 

Among  plant  diseases,  rust  and  smut  are  per- 
haps the  most  destructive.  There  is  no  remedy 
for  rust  other  than  the  breeding  of  rust-resistant 
varieties  of  wheat,  and  so  far  no  fully  rust- 
resistant  varieties  have  been  produced,  although 
certain  varieties  growing  side  by  side  in  a  field 
often  show  a  different  susceptibility  to  the  attacks 
of  rust.  This  may  be  due,  however,  to  different 
periods  of  maturing  and  to  weather  conditions 
as  much  as  to  the  variety. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  damage  by  stinking  smut 
in  many  seasons  amounts  to  10%  of  the  total  wheat 
crop  of  the  United  States,  while  certain  fields 
may  show  a  much  larger  percentage  of  damage. 
This  disease  may  be  almost  wholly  prevented.  In 


96  WHEAT 

threshing  smutty  wheat  the  smut  balls  break  and 
the  small,  dust-like  spores  adhere  to  the  wheat 
kernels.  When  such  wheat  is  planted  the  smut 
spores  sprout  and  produce  a  fungous  growth 
which  infects  the  young  wheat  plant  and  grows 
within  it,  fruiting  and  forming  its  spores  in  the 
head  of  the  wheat,  taking  the  place  of  the  grain. 
Any  treatment  which  will  destroy  these  spores 
without  injuring  the  grain  of  wheat  will  prevent 
smut.  Several  treatments  have  been  more  or  less 
successfully  used,  as  hot  water,  copper  sulphate 
or  bluestone,  corrosive  sublimate,  and  formal- 
dehyde. 

TREAT  WITH  FORMALDEHYDE 

The  best  remedy  known  for  stinking  smut  in 
wheat  is  to  treat  the  seed  with  a  solution  of  formal- 
dehyde. Use  one  pound  of  formaldehyde  (40% 
strength)  to  forty  gallons  of  water.  Either  spray 
the  wheat  or  dip  it  into  a  barrel  or  tank  containing 
the  solution,  taking  care  that  the  grain  becomes 
thoroughly  wet.  The  wet  grain  may  be  left  in  piles 
and  covered  with  blankets  for  a  few  hours  in 
order  to  retain  the  formaldehyde  gas  and  insure 
the  destruction  of  all  the  smut  spores.  Then 
spread  the  grain  quite  thinly  on  a  tight  floor  or 
canvas  and  allow  it  to  dry  from  twelve  to  twenty- 
four  hours,  shoveling  it  over  once  or  twice.  Care 
should  be  taken  not  to  allow  the  wet  grain  to  heat 
in  the  pile.  The  usual  method  is  to  treat  one  day 
the  seed  that  is  to  be  sown  the  next  day.  The 
wheat  thus  treated  will  swell  some,  and  in  order 
to  sow  the  required  amount  per  acre  the  drill 


WHEAT  97 

should  be  set  to  sow  about  one-fifth  to  one-fourth 
more  grain  than  the  usual  amount.  If  the  smut 
spores  adhering  to  the  wheat  grains  are  destroyed, 
there  is  little  danger  from  the  smut  spores  that 
may  remain  in  the  soil  coming  into  contact  with 
the  young  wheat  plants,  and  the  resulting  crop 
should  be  practically  free  from  stinking  smut. 

Formaldehyde  is  a  poison,  and  if  the  treated 
wheat  is  eaten  by  poultry  or  other  livestock  while 
it  is  wet  it  is  likely  to  injure  or  kill  the  animals, 
but  when  the  wheat  has  become  fairly  dry  there 
is  no  danger  from  feeding  the  treated  grain  be- 
cause the  formaldehyde  evaporates  and  no  poison 
will  remain  in  the  wheat. 

Loose  smut  of  wheat  is  less  injurious  than  hid- 
den or  stinking  smut,  but  it  is  harder  to  control. 
Loose  smut  destroys  the  heads  and  grain  the 
same  as  stinking  smut  but  it  matures  earlier  and 
the  smut  spores  are  scattered  by  the  wind  while 
the  wheat  is  growing.  Some  of  these  spores  fall 
into  the  glumes  of  the  growing  wheat  and  sprout, 
and  infect  the  kernels  and  make  some  growth 
before  the  grain  reaches  maturity.  These  young 
smut  plants  remain  dormant  from  the  time  the 
wheat  matures  until  the  grain  is  planted,  when 
they  start  growth  again  with  the  sprouting  wheat, 
and  growing  within  the  wheat  plant  reach  ma- 
turity forming  spores  on  the  spike  where  the 
wheat  grain  should  have  formed.  These  black- 
ened or  bare  spikes  occur  soon  after  the  wheat 
reaches  the  full  heading  stage. 

It  is  difficult  to  destroy  the  young  smut  plants 
which  have  started  within  the  wheat  kernels. 

7 


98  WHEAT 

Ordinary  treatments  for  stinking  smut  do  not  kill 
loose  smut  but  loose  smut  may  be  destroyed  by 
treating  the  infected  seed  grain  with  hot  water. 
This  treatment  is  also  effective  for  destroying 
stinking  smut. 

HOT  WATER  TREATMENT  FOR  LOOSE  OR  STINKING 
SMUT  OF  WHEAT* 

Dip  the  wheat  in  hot  water  at  a  temperature 
of  from  132  to  133°  Fahrenheit.  The  seed  should 
be  placed  for  the  purpose  in  a  coarsely  woven 
basket  covered  with  wire  netting,  or  else  in  a 
coarse  gunny  sack.  The  basket  or  sack  must  not 
be  filled  full,  as  the  grain  must  be  loose  inside. 
There  should  be  six  or  eight  times  as  much  hot 
water  as  the  bulk  of  the  grain  to  be  treated,  and 
the  temperature  of  the  water  must  be  kept  at 
the  right  point  by  letting  in  steam,  or  by  adding 
hot  water  from  time  to  time  if  necessary.  The 
grain  must  be  lifted  out  of  the  water  four  or  five 
times  during  the  treatment  and  allowed  to  drain. 
This  is  needful  to  insure  that  all  the  grain  comes 
into  intimate  contact  with  hot  water  at  the  right 
temperature. 

If  not  convenient  to  keep  the  water  at  132  or 
133°  it  may  be  allowed  to  go  higher,  but  the  treat- 
ment must  be  shortened,  and  at  145°  the  treat- 
ment must  not  be  prolonged  beyond  five  minutes, 
and  care  must  be  taken  that  the  water  is  even  in 
temperature  throughout;  otherwise  some  grain 

"The  above  treatment  for  stinking  smut  is  given  in  Farmers 
Bulletin  No.  250,United  States  Department  of  Agriculture 


.WHEAT  99 

will  be  killed  and  other  grain  insufficiently  treated 
so  the  smut  will  not  be  killed. 

If  steam  is  available  the  water  can  easily  be 
heated  by  conducting  a  steam  pipe  into  the  vessel. 
The  steam,  in  getting  in,  heats  the  water  and  at  the 
same  time  stirs  it  thoroughly.  The  hot  water 
treatment  requires  no  outlay  at  all  for  chemicals, 
but  requires  careful  attention  and  considerably 
more  labor  than  any  of  the  other  treatments.  If 
properly  carried  out  it  is  undoubtedly  the  best 
treatment  for  all  kinds  of  grain  smuts. 

After  removing  the  grain  from  the  hot  water, 
spread  on  a  clean  floor  or  on  a  piece  of  canvas  to 
dry.  The  layer  of  grain  should  not  be  more  than 
three  inches  thick.  If  it  cannot  be  spread  out  at 
once,  dip  in  cold  water  and  set  to  one  side  until 
it  can  be  attended  to.  It  dries  best  if  spread 
while  hot.  After  one  portion  is  spread  out  an- 
other can  be  treated,  and  so  on,  until  all  the  seed 
has  been  disinfected. 


100  WHEAT 

CHAPTER  IX 
MAINTAINING  SOIL  FERTILITY 

Our  agricultural  teaching  and  modern  methods 
of  farm  practice  have  resulted  in  largely  increased 
crop  yields  at  the  expense  of  soil  fertility.  Experi- 
ment stations  and  many  farmers  have  been  busy 
investigating  and  applying  better  tillage  methods 
in  the  growing  of  wheat,  and  this  is  well.  As  the 
writer  has  determined  by  experiments  it  is  pos- 
sible to  double  the  yield  of  wheat  in  a  single 
season  by  careful  and  timely  preparation  of  the 
seed  bed ;  but  the  scientific  tillage  of  the  soil  should 
be  combined  with  crop  rotation,  green  manuring 
and  the  use  of  barnyard  manure  and  other  neces- 
sary fertilizers,  or  it  will  degenerate  into  a  mining 
proposition — mining  the  soil  of  its  fertility. 

In  a  sense,  " tillage  is  manure"  because  the 
favorable  conditions  produced  by  the  cultivation 
of  the  land  cause  the  plant  food  in  the  soil  to 
become  available  faster  than  would  be  the  case 
without  tillage.  But  good  tillage  alone  will  not 
keep  the  soil  fertile;  rather  it  may  cause  the  fer- 
tility of  the  soil  to  become  exhausted  more  rapidly 
by  the  production  of  larger  crops.  There  is  also 
a  tendency  to  waste  the  soluble  plant  food  by 
drainage  and  soil  drifting.  The  great  problem 
in  western  wheat  farming  today  is  not  how  to  get 
larger  yields  out  of  the  soil  for  a  few  years,  but 
rather  how  to  produce  paying  crops  every  year 
and  at  the  same  time  maintain  the  potential 
fertility  and  productiveness  of  the  land. 


WHEAT 


101 


CONTINUOUS  CROPPING  THE  MAIN  FAULT 

The  fault  with  most  wheat  producing  sections 
is  that  the  land  is  cropped  with  wheat  too  con- 
tinuously. The  continuous  growing  of  wheat  on 
the  same  soil  has  always  proved  disastrous  in 
the  course  of  years.  This  has  been  the  history 
of  wheat  farming,  and  largely  on  this  account  the 
wheat-growing  area  of  the  United  States  has 
moved  ever  westward.  It  appears  now  that  most 
of  the  land  available  for  the  growing  of  wheat  has 
been  taken,  and  if  wheat  raising  in  this  country 
is  to  continue  to  be  profitable  there  must  be  a 
change  in  our  methods  of  farming. 


Fig.  28. — A  typical  Montana  wheat  field.     Millions  of  acres  like 
these  are  still  waiting  for  the  plow. 


102  WHEAT 

WHEAT   SICK   LAND 

Fertile  land  which  has  been  cropped  with  wheat 
for  a  long  time  becomes  "wheat  sick."  It  is  not 
necessarily  exhausted  in  fertility — it  needs  a  rest, 
a  change  of  crop.  The  soil  is  likely  to  become 
exhausted  in  nitrogen  and  organic  matter  and 
humus,  and  it  may  become  deficient  in  some  of 
the  mineral  elements  of  plant  food.  But  the  prob- 
lem of  reduced  yields  is  not  a  matter  of  plant  food 
alone.  The  continuous  cropping  with  wheat 
infects  the  soil  with  plant  diseases  and  injurious 
insects,  and  the  loss  of  organic  matter  and  con- 
tinuous tillage  destroys  the  ideal  texture  and  tilth 
which  characterized  the  virgin  prairie  when  it 
was  first  broken.  What  the  old  wheat  land  needs 
worst  and  first  is  a  proper  rotation  of  crops  which 
will  serve  to  aerate  the  soil  and  free  it  of  weeds 
and  infectious  diseases  and  injurious  insects,  and 
at  the  same  time  renew  the  supply  of  organic 
matter  and  nitrogen. 

ROTATION  PLANS 

In  planning  rotations,  four  general  classes  of 
crops  should  be  provided  for  if  conditions  will 
allow: 

1.  A  "money"  crop,  or  crop  to  be  sold,  which 
may  remove  from  the  soil  considerable  quantities 
of  plant  food. 

2.  A  leguminous  crop  to  return  nitrogen  and 
organic  matter  to  the  soil,  and  also  by  its  deep 
root  system  to  collect  subsoil  phosphorus,  potas- 
sium and  lime. 


WHEAT  103 

3.  (a)  A  crop  for  feeding  farm  animals,  the 
plant  food  of  which  is  largely  returned  to  the  soil 
in  manure;  (b)  a  crop  for  green  manure  in  case 
livestock  raising  is  not  a  part  of  the  farming  plan. 

4.  An  intertilled  crop  for  destroying  weeds  and 
improving  the  physical  and  sanitary  conditions 
of  the  soil. 

The  arrangement  or  order  of  crops  in  a  rotation 
system  should  follow  as  far  as  possible  these 
rules: 

1.  To  alternate  shallow  and  deep  rooted  crops. 

2.  Crops  which  furnish  organic  matter  should 
alternate  with  those  which  favor  its  rapid  decom- 
position. 

3.  Use  at  least  one  leguminous  crop  in  the 
rotation  in  order  to  increase  the  supply  of  plant 
food  in  the  soil. 

4.  Crops  in  rotation  should  vary  in  time  of 
planting,  cultivation,  and  harvest  season  as  much 
as  possible,  and  in  amount  and  kind  of  their 
plant  food  requirements. 

5.  (a)  Commercial  fertilizer  should  be  applied 
to  the  special  crop  which  will  be  most  benefited 
by  its  use,  such  as  wheat,  clover,  or  alfalfa,    (b) 
Manure  should  be  applied  to  the  hardy,  more 
vigorous  growing  crops,  such  as  corn  and  forage 
crops  or  grasses  and  clover  which  should  precede 
wheat. 

The  kinds  of  crops  in  the  rotation  will  depend 
upon  the  climatic  and  soil  conditions,  the  market 
requirements  and  the  kind  of  farming.  In  the 
more  humid  sections  ideal  rotation  systems  are 
not  difficult  to  plan  and  execute.  The  following 


104  WHEAT 

are  some  wheat  rotations  in  practical  use  which 
include  most  of  the  requirements  named : 

1.  Wheat,  clover,  potatoes — three  year  rota- 
tion. 

2. .  Wheat,  clover,  corn,  oats — four  year  rota- 
tion. 

3.  Wheat,  clover  and  timothy  (2  years),  corn, 
oats — five  year  rotation. 

4.  Wheat   (2  years),  alfalfa   (5  years),  corn 
(2  years),  oats — ten  year  rotation. 

5.  Wheat,  wheat  plus  catch  crop  of  cowpeas, 
corn,  oats — four  year  rotation. 

6.  Wheat,  wheat,  cowpeas — three  year  rota- 
tion. 

7.  Wheat,  corn  and  cowpeas,  oats — three  year 
rotation. 

It  is  possible  to  use  barley  or  other  small  grain 
in  place  of  oats.  Other  green  manure  crops  may 
be  used  instead  of  cowpeas,  such  as  sand  vetch, 
field  peas,  sweet  clover,  crimson  clover,  etc. 

ROTATION  FOR  SEMI-ARID  LAND 

A  regular  and  systematic  rotation  of  crops  is 
not  so  easily  adopted  and  carried  out  in  the  semi- 
arid  regions,  but  the  following  plans  may  be 
successfully  used : 

1.  Wheat,  flax,  fallow — three  year  rotation. 

2.  Wheat,  corn,  flax — three  year  rotation. 

3.  Wheat,  flax,  corn,  oats — four  year  rotation. 

4.  Wheat    (4    years),    grasses    and    legumes 
(5  years),  corn — ten  year  rotation. 

5.  Wheat  (2  years)  green  crop  with  fallow, 
corn — four  year  rotation. 


BBHBBi 


106  WHEAT 

6.  Wheat,  kafir  (or  other  sorghum),  fallow- 
three  year  rotation. 

7.  Wheat,  wheat  plus  green  manure,  kafir, 
fallow — four  year  rotation. 

8.  Wheat   (2  years),  kafir,  green  crop  with 
fallow — four  year  rotation. 

9.  Wheat,  corn   (or  other  forage),  oats  plus 
green  manure,  fallow — four  year  rotation. 

10.  Wheat,  corn,  cowpeas  with  fallow — three 
year  rotation. 

Alfalfa  may  be  grown  successfully  and  used  in 
rotation  in  the  more  favorable  soils  of  the  semi- 
arid  regions.  The  first  five  plans  are  adapted  to 
the  northwestern  spring  wheat  area,  where  it 
is  difficult  to  use  leguminous  or  green  manuring 
crops.  The  last  five  may  be  successfully  prac- 
ticed in  Kansas  and  the  southwest  in  the  growing 
of  winter  wheat.  Plan  No.  6  is  now  being  prac- 
ticed on  the  3,600  acre  experimental  farm  at 
Fort  Hays.  One-third  of  the  tilled  upland  on 
this  farm  is  planted  to  wheat  each  year,  one-third 
to  intertilled  and  forage  crops,  mainly  kafir,  milo 
and  sweet  sorghum,  and  one-third  remains  fallow 
each  year,  making  no  crop  and  receiving  summer 
culture.  During  the  year  of  fallow  the  land  should 
receive  a  dressing  of  manure,  or  early  planted  crops 
may  be  plowed  under  for  green  manure.  Wheat 
follows  the  summer  fallow  and  the  forage  crops 
and  the  sorghums  follow  the  wheat,  thus  every 
year  the  great  income  producing  crop,  wheat,  is 
grown  under  the  most  favorable  conditions.  Where 
conditions  are  more  humid  two  or  three  crops  of 
wheat  may  be  raised  after  fallow  before  the  field 
is  planted  again  with  sorghums. 


WHEAT  107 

MIXED  FARMING 

Such  a  system  of  farming  compels  the  raising 
of  livestock  to  consume  the  forage,  and  this  will 
necessitate  the  building  of  silos  and  forage  barns 
to  save  the  forage  in  large  enough  quantities  so 
that  there  will  always  be  a  reserve  supply  to  tide 
over  a  very  dry  season  and  thus  make  dry  farming 
permanent  and  sure.  In  the  dry  farming  areas  of 
the  Pacific  slope  and  in  the  drier  parts  of  the  west- 
ern plains  and  mountain  states  where  dry  farming 
is  practiced,  alternate  cropping  and  bare  summer 
fallowing  seems  to  be  as  yet  the  most  practical 
method  of  maintaining  crop  yields.  Perhaps 
haps  the  future  may  develop  green  crops  which 
may  be  successfully  used  for  green  manure  in  these 
dry  areas  in  order  to  restore  the  decreasing  soil 
humus  and  organic  matter.  Under  irrigation  it 
is  possible  to  introduce  one  or  more  of  the  rota- 
tion plans  in  use  in  humid  climates,  with  perhaps 
some  variation  in  the  kinds  of  crops. 

INFLUENCE  OF  CROP  ROTATION  ON  WHEAT  YIELDS 

The  influence  of  individual  crops  in  rotations 
on  succeeding  wheat  yields  is  shown  by  a  long 
series  of  experiments  at  the  North  Dakota  exper- 
ment  station,  in  which  wheat  was  grown  after 
each  of  several  crops  each  year  for  three  years  in 
succession  in  four  year  rotations,  thus  eliminating 
the  effect  of  seasons.  As  assistant  agronomist 
at  the  North  Dakota  experiment  station  the  writer 
had  the  privilege  of  conducting  this  work  for 
five  years  (1898  to  1902)  and  started  this  particu- 
lar series  of  rotations.  The  results  taken  from 


108 


WHEAT 


North   Dakota  bulletin   No.   100,   by  Shepperd 
and  Doneghue,  are  given  below. 

TABLE  V 

Showing  increase  in  yield  per  acre  of  wheat  after 
various  crops,  compared  with  wheat  after  wheat. 


Wheat  After 

1st  Year 
Bushels 

2d  Year 
Bushels 

3d  Year 
Bushels 

Total 
Increase 
Bushels 

Wheat 
Torn  
Potatoes 

Check 

7.87 
—1.49* 

Check 

7.57 
13.29 

Check 
2.40 
4.17 

Check 
17.84 
15.97 

Mangels  
Rape  
Field  peas  
Millet  
Timothy  
Fallow  (no  crop)..  . 

6.95 
7.55 
6.53 
7.41 
1.84 
7.45 

8.57 
8.84 
1.93 
5.99 
8.90 
3.46 

2.10 
3.29 
0.29 
2.26 
6.16 
2.38 

17.62 
19.68 
8.75 
15.63 
16.90** 
13.29 

*Decrea3e. 

**There  was  6.76  bushels  increase  in  yield  the  fourth  yoar. 

There  WES  no  increase  in  yield  of  wheat,  as  an 
average,  after  flax  or  other  small  grains.  The 
largest  total  increase  in  wheat  yields  for  three 
years  was  19.68  bushels  per  acre,  after  rape.  The 
second  largest  was  17.84  bushels  after  corn.  The 
average  "check"  yield  of  wheat  after  wheat,  in 
corn  series  was  15.35  bushels  per  acre;  in  the  rape 
series,  16.14  bushels  per  acre. 

FERTILIZER  NEEDS  OF  WHEAT 

The  plant  food  constituents  in  a  normal  wheat 
crop  of  twenty-five  bushels  per  acre,  also  in  a 
normal  crop  of  corn,  oats,  clover,  alfalfa,  and  the 
fertility  in  manure  and  some  other  fertilizers 
together  with  its  value,  are  given  in  Table  VI. 


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110 


WHEAT 


The  values  of  the  fertilizing  constituents  are 
calculated  at  the  market  price  of  car  lots  as 
follows: 

Nitrogen  in  sodium  nitrate 15c  per  pound 

Phosphorus  in  ground  rock  phosphate 3c  per  pound 

Potassium  in  kainit 6c  per  pound 

TABLE  VII 

Amounts  of  plant  food  constituents  in  fertile 
soils:  ("Fertilizers  and  Crops"  by  VanSlyke) 


Constituents 

Percent 

Pounds  in  one  Acre  to  Depth 
of  Nine  Inches 

Nitrogen  
Phosphorus.  .  . 
Potassium  
Calcium  

0.10  to  0.30 
0.03  to  0.11 
0.80  to  1.60 
0.20  to  1.50 

2,500  to    7,500 
750  to    2,750 
20,000  to  40,000 
5,000  to  37,500 

Average 
5,100 
1,750 
30,000 
21,250 

The  average  weight  of  an  acre  of  soil  to  the 
depth  of  nine  inches  is  taken  as  2,500,000  pounds. 
The  great  bulk  of  the  soil  consists  of  inert  ma- 
terials, as  clay  and  sand,  composed  largely  of 
aluminum  and  silica.  The  plant  food  constituents 
are  present  only  in  relatively  small  proportions. 
The  combined  amounts  of  nitrogen,  phosphorus 
and  potassium  in  fertile  soils  are  usually  less 
than  1%  and  only  a  very  small  proportion  of  these 
small  amounts  are  in  forms  immediately  available 
for  the  use  of  plants.  Considering  the  small 
amounts  required  by  crops,  the  supply  of  plant 
foods  in  the  soil  will  theoretically  last  a  very  long 
time.  For  instance  comparing  Tables  V  and  VI 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  average  fertile  soil  con- 
tains enough  phosphorus  in  nine  acre-inches  to 
produce  more  than  200  twenty-five  bushel  wheat 


WHEAT  111 

crops;  enough  nitrogen  for  1,000  crops  and  enough 
potassium  for  10,000  crops.  It  is  true  also  that 
many  subsoils  to  the  depth  of  several  feet  at 
least,  are  often  as  rich  in  the  mineral  plant  foods 
as  the  surface  soil.  We  know  that  in  practice 
however,  a  very  fertile  soil  will  not  continue 
productive  by  continuous  cropping  without  fer- 
tilization for  even  100  years.  After  thirty  or  forty 
years  of  continuous  wheat  cropping,  the  fertile 
Red  River  Valley  lands  are  showing  decreasing 
yields.  In  fact  a  considerable  area  of  this  splendid 
land  is  now  being  abandoned  for  wheat  culture 
because  it  will  not  produce  yields  large  enough 
to  pay  for  the  farming. 

One  reason  for  this  condition  is  the  waste  of 
soluable  plant  food  by  oxidation  and  drainage, 
especially  the  nitrogen  and  the  lime.  It  was 
found  at  the  Minnesota  experiment  station  that 
in  growing  eight  crops  of  wheat  continuously, 
enough  nitrogen  disappeared  from  the  soil  to 
produce  nineteen  other  crops  of  wheat — thirty 
bushels  per  acre.  Again  the  mineral  plant  foods 
are  locked  up  and  become  unavailable  in  soils 
which  reach  an  unfavorable  physical  condition, 
due  to  continuous  cropping  and  loss  of  organic 
matter. 

WHEN  DOCTORS  DISAGREE 

It  is  evident  therefore  that  theory  and  practice 
do  not  agree.  Land  cannot  be  cropped  for  a 
long  time  without  fertilization  and  remain  pro- 
ductive. It  is  also  evident  that  nitrogen,  lime 
and  phosphorus  are  the  limiting  elements  in  soil 
productivity. 


112  WHEAT 

Hopkins  is  authority  for  the  statement  that 
the  fertility  of  all  normal  soils  in  the  United 
States  may  be  permanently  maintained  and  even 
increased  by  adopting  systems  of  farming  which 
will  supply  three  constituents  regularly  and  in 
proper  amounts,  namely,  limestone,  phosphorus 
and  organic  matter.  The  limestone  is  required 
to  correct  acidity,  and  is  most  cheaply  applied 
in  the  form  of  ground  limestone  rock  as  a  surface 
dressing.  The  phosphorus  is  needed  solely  for 
its  plant  food  value,  and  its  most  economical 
source  is  ground  rock  phosphate.  The  supply 
of  organic  matter  must  be  renewed  to  provide 
nitrogen  and  to  keep  the  soil  in  favorable  physical 
condition.  It  has  to  do  also  with  making  avail- 
able the  potassium  and  other  essential  plant  food 
elements  contained  in  the  soil  in  abundance. 

The  ideal  farm  practice  is  to  return  to  the  soil 
all  plant  food  not  sold  from  the  farm.  The  or- 
ganic matter  may  be  in  part  maintained  by  plow- 
ing down  the  stubble  and  by  saving  the  straw 
and  manure  and  returning  it  again  to  the  soil. 

Investigations  at  several  experiment  stations 
have  determined  that  about  one-third  of  the  total 
organic  matter  and  nitrogen  in  a  red  clover  plant 
is  contained  in  the  roots  and  stubble.  Alfalfa  con- 
tains a  larger  proportion  of  nitrogen  in  its  roots, 
while  sweet  clover  and  crimson  clover  may  con- 
tain a  little  less  than  red  clover.  If  a  crop  of  any 
of  these  legumes  is  plowed  under  for  green  manure 
there  is  added  to  the  soil  a  definite  amount  of 
organic  matter  and  nitrogen  which  may  be  readily 
computed.  Thus  the  plowing  under  of  a  crop  of 


WHEAT  113 

clover  equivalent  to  a  ton  of  dry  hay  will  add  forty 
pounds  of  nitrogen  per  acre  besides  that  contained 
in  the  roots  of  the  clover. 

From  Table  VII  it  may  be  readily  determined 
how  much  manure  or  other  fertilizer  will  be  neces- 
sary to  use  to  return  to  the  soil  the  amounts  of 
plant  food  removed  by  a  twenty-five  bushel  wheat 
crop,  and  normal  yields  of  other  crops  used  in 
rotation. 

In  a  four  year  rotation  of  wheat,  corn,  oats  and 
clover,  the  supply  of  organic  matter  and  nitrogen 
should  be  maintained  by  the  rotation  of  clover 
and  by  the  application  of  fifteen  tons  of  manure 
every  four  years  to  the  clover  sod  before  plowing 
for  corn;  or  in  the  case  of  grain  farming  without 
much  livestock,  the  plowing  under  of  one  crop 
of  clover  with  the  addition  of  nine  tons  of  manure 
per  acre  will  supply  the  required  nitrogen.  Fifty 
pounds  of  rock  phosphate  applied  with  fifteen 
tons  of  manure,  or  one  hundred  pounds  applied 
with  nine  tons  every  fourth  year,  will  maintain 
the  phosphorus  content  of  the  soil. 

It  is  possible  to  keep  up  the  nitrogen  supply 
without  manure  by  using  the  rotation  with  clover, 
and  plowing  down  the  second  cutting  and  adding 
a  catch  crop  of  cowpeas,  planted  after  wheat  and 
plowed  under  in  the  fall,  preceding  corn.  This 
plan  would  require  the  use  of  250  pounds  of  phos- 
phate rock  to  maintain  the  phosphorus.  If  the 
soil  becomes  acid  or  is  lacking  in  lime,  it  should 
receive  an  application  of  from  one  to  three  tons  of 
ground  limestone  per  acre  every  fourth  season. 
If  there  is  an  abundant  supply  of  phosphate  in 


114  WHEAT 

the  soil,  it  will  doubtless  not  be  necessary  to  use 
more  than  one-half  of  the  theoretically  required 
amount  of  phosphate  in  order  to  insure  the  pro- 
duction of  normal  crops;  a  heavier  application 
would  make  larger  yields  possible. 

Other  commercial  phosphate  fertilizers  are  super- 
phosphate, bone  meal  and  Thomas  slag.  These 
forms  may  be  used  in  place  of  the  ground  rock 
phosphate  but  are  rather  more  expensive.  There 
are  other  commercial  fertilizers  which  may  be 
used  to  advantage  on  some  soils  but  it  seems  best 
not  to  mention  them  here  lest  it  confuse  the 
reader. 

METHODS  OF  FERTILIZATION 

If  commercial  fertilizers  are  used  in  growing 
wheat,  they  had  best  be  applied  to  the  wheat 
crop  at  seeding  time  by  the  use  of  a  fertilizer  drill. 
Manure  may  be  applied  directly  to  wheat,  prefer- 
ably as  a  surface  dressing  after  seeding  and  often 
with  good  results.  The  writer  increased  the  yield 
of  wheat  thirty  per  cent  on  upland  at  the  Kansas 
experiment  station,  by  applying  ten  tons  of  well 
rotted  manure  per  acre  as  a  surface  dressing  to  fall 
wheat.  Coarse  strawy  manure  should  not  be  used 
for  this  purpose.  A  better  plan  is  to  supply  the 
necessary  plant  food  for  the  wheat  crop  by  manur- 
ing or  fertilizing  other  crops  in  the  rotation.  The 
manure  may  be  profitably  applied  to  corn,  alfalfa, 
clover  or  grasses,  and  the  clovers  and  grasses 
respond  well  also  to  phosphate  and  limestone. 

There  is  a  double  advantage  in  applying  fer- 
tilizer to  the  legume  crop,  since  it  not  only  causes 


WHEAT  115 

an  increased  yield  of  the  legume,  but  a  greater 
storage  of  plant  food  in  the  roots  of  the  legume 
crop,  due  to  the  increased  growth,  and  this 
increase  in  the  fertility  of  the  soil  will  be  available 
to  the  crop  which  follows  the  legume. 

HOW  TO  USE  MANURE 

Manure  should  not  be  applied  in  too  heavy 
applications,  a  light  dressing  of  eight  tons  of 
manure  per  acre  over  forty  acres  will  give  a 
greater  relative  increase  in  the  crop  and  greater 
value  to  the  manure  than  a  heavier  dressing  of 
sixteen  tons  per  acre  over  twenty  acres  leaving  the 
remaining  twenty  acres  unmanured.  Actual 
experiments  on  a  small  scale  have  proven  this 
statement.  Also  in  plowing  under  a  heavy  dress- 
ing of  manure  there  is  danger  that  the  manure,  by 
breaking  the  capillary  connection  of  the  soil 
with  the  subsoil  may  cause  the  crop  to  "burn 
out"  in  a  dry  season.  For  the  same  reason  it  is 
not  advisable  to  plow  under  trashy  or  coarse 
manure. 

An  experiment  in  manuring  in  wheat  rotations 
carried  on  for  twenty  years  at  the  North  Dakota 
experiment  station  demonstrates  the  cumulative 
effect  of  manuring.  Only  six  loads  of  well  rotted 
manure  was  applied  per  acre  to  the  corn  or  millet 
in  a  four  year  rotation  with  wheat.  The  percent- 
age increase  in  yields  of  wheat  from  manuring 
compared  with  the  same  rotation  without  manure 
is  given  in  Table  VIII. 


116 


WHEAT 
TABLE  VIII 


Increase  in  wheat  yield  due  to  farm  manure 
by  periods  of  five  years  (1892-1906),  Bui.  No. 
100  N.  D.  Exp.  Station. 


Manure 
Applied  to 

Percent  Increase 

First 
Period 

Second 
Period 

Third 
Period 

Fourth 
Period 

12.5* 
3^.2* 
21.3* 

Average 

12.2 
19.3 
15.8 

Corn  
Millet  
Average  

5.5 

6.1 

5.8 

9.3 
10.1 
9.7 

21.5 
33.0 

27.2 

*  Three  years  only. 

The  average  annual  increase  in  wheat  yields 
was  nearly  16%  due  to  the  application  of  only 
six  loads  of  manure  per  acre  once  in  four  years, 
and  this  was  on  the  fertile  wheat  lands  of  the  Red 
River  Valley. 

THE  VALUE  OF  WHEAT  STRAW 

Observe  from  Table  V  that  a  ton  of  wheat 
straw  contains  about  the  same  amount  of  plant 
food  elements  as  a  ton  of  farm  manure  but  it  is 
difficult  to  use  the  straw  directly  as  a  fertilizer 
because  of  its  bulky,  trashy  character.  In  the 
great  wheat  producing  areas  it  seems  necessary 
to  burn  a  great  deal  of  straw  simply  to  get  it  out 
of  the  way.  When  burning  is  necessary,  it  is 
better  to  spread  the  straw  over  the  field  and  burn 
it  rather  than  to  burn  it  in  piles.  By  spreading, 
the  ashes  will  be  distributed  over  the  land  and 
the  nitrogen  only  will  be  lost  in  burning. 

The  introduction  of  a  proper  rotation  of  crops 


WHEAT  117 

will  largely  do  away  with  the  necessity  of  burning 
the  straw.  Wheat  straw  has  some  feeding  value 
but  perhaps  the  best  use  for  it  is  as  bedding  in 
the  stable  and  in  the  yards  where  it  may  fulfill  a 
double  purpose;  to  provide  a  suitable  bed  for 
stock  and  also  as  an  absorbent  for  the  manure, 
especially  the  liquid  excreta  of  the  animals,  the 
fertilizing  value  of  which  is  greater  even  than  that 
of  the  solid  excrement.  After  being  tramped 
and  partially  decayed,  the  straw  itself  makes 
good  manure  and  may  be  readily  incorporated 
with  the  soil. 

GREEN  MANURING  WITH  SUMMER  FALLOWING 

The  soils  of  the  Great  Plains  are  usually  abund- 
antly rich  in  mineral  plant  foods  and  it  is  doubtful 
if  the  application  of  phosphates  or  lime  is  neces- 
sary in  order  to  increase  yields,  but  these  same 
soils  are  and  always  have  been  lacking  in  organic 
matter  and  the  continuous  cropping  has  rapidly 
depleted  the  natural  supply.  It  has  been  found 
difficult  to  rotate  crops  in  semi-arid  regions  so  as 
to  restore  the  organic  matter. 

The  method  of  green  manuring  and  partial 
summer  fallowing  which  has  been  put  into  prac- 
tice at  the  Ft.  Hays,  Kansas  experiment  station  is 
in  the  judgment  of  the  writer  an  advantage  over 
bare  summer  fallowing  and  largely  overcomes  the 
objections  to  summer  tilling.  The  plan  is  to 
plant  a  fall  crop  or  early  spring  crop  and  plow 
it  under  late  in  May  or  early  in  June,  practicing 
a  summer  fallow  with  surface  cultivation  (summer 
tillage)  for  the  balance  of  the  season  until  seeding 


118  WHEAT 

time.  Certain  crops  adapted  to  the  west  are  being 
tested  for  this  purpose;  the  most  promising  are 
sand  vetch  and  sweet  clover  for  fall  seeding  and 
field  peas  for  spring  seeding.  These  crops  are 
hardy  rapid,  growers  and  somewhat  drouth  re- 
sistent  and  may  be  used  in  part  for  pasture,  thus 
giving  some  return  other  than  their  fertilizing 
value.  . 

VARIOUS  EXPERIMENTS 

Wheat  sown  directly  after  green  manuring 
with  field  peas,  has  not  given  as  high  yields  as 
when  sown  after  a  bare  fallow.  Sand  vetch  is 
safer  to  use  because  it  may  be  seeded  in  the  fall 
and  is  ready  to  plow  down  early  in  the  spring. 

An  experiment  in  green  manuring  in  wheat 
rotations  at  the  North  Dakota  experiment  station 
indicates,  that  as  the  supply  of  organic  matter 
decreases,  the  benefit  from  green  manuring  in- 
creases. This  experiment  has  been  carried  on  for 
twenty  years,  a  crop  of  field  peas  or  millet  being 
plowed  down  every  fourth  year.  The  results  of 
green  manuring  on  the  succeeding  yields  of  wheat 
compared  with  the  same  rotation  in  which  the 
peas  and  millet  crops  were  harvested  is  given  in 
Table  IX. 

TABLE  IX 

Showing  the  influence  of  green  manuring  upon 
wheat  yields  by  periods  of  five  years  (1892-1906), 
Bui.  No.  100  North  Dakota  experiment  station: 


WHEAT 


119 


Green  Manured 
With 

Percent  Increase  or  Decrease 

First 
Period 

Second 
Period 

Third 
Period 

Fourth 
Period 

Average 

Field  peas  
Millet  

Average  

—9.6* 
0.6 

—6.9* 
—7.0* 

33.2 
10.0 

17.6 
10.5 

8.6 
3.5 

—4.5* 

—7.0* 

21.6 

14.1 

6.1 

*Decrease. 

The  negative  results  during  the  first  two 
periods  are  more  than  off -set  by  the  positive  in- 
crease in  yields  in  the  last  two  periods.  It  should 
be  remembered  also  that  this  North  Dakota 
soil  (the  typical  Red  River  Valley  wheat  lands) 
is  far  richer  in  organic  matter  than  the  average 
soil  of  the  Western  Plains. 

DANGER  OF  GREEN  MANURING 

The  danger  from  green  manuing  is  that  the 
seed  bed  will  be  left  too  loose  the  first  year  with 
a  tendency  to  dry  out  and  injure  the  crop.  Also, 
the  wheat  is  apt  to  produce  too  rank  a  growth  of 
straw,  the  first  crop  after  green  manuring.  These 
objections  may  be  in  part  overcome  by  early 
plowing,  subsurface  packing  and  frequent  surface 
cultivation  in  order  to  hasten  the  decay  of  the 
organic  matter,  conserve  the  soil  moisture  and 
secure  a  firm,  well  pulverized  condition  of  the 
seed  bed. 

If  this  method  of  green  manuring  can  be  gen- 
erally adopted,  it  will  solve  the  problem  for  a  long 
time  at  least  of  keeping  up  the  supply  of  organic 
matter  and  maintaining  the  productiveness  of 
our  western  wheat  lands. 


120 


WHEAT 


In  conclusion,  the  farmer  who  carries  out  a 
proper  system  of  crop  rotation,  as  described  in 
these  pages,  growing  wheat  on  only  a  part  of  his 
fields  each  season,  may  produce  more  wheat  on 
one-third  or  one-half  of  his  farm  in  the  next  forty 
years  than  he  would  produce  by  continually 
growing  wheat  on  all  his  land.  The  crops  used  in 
rotation  will  give  an  additional  profit  when  fed 
to  live  stock,  and  if  the  manure  is  saved,  and 
returned  to  the  soil,  with  perhaps  a  little  phosphate 
and  limestone,  as  may  be  required,  the  fertility 
of  the  land  should  be  maintained  and  its  produc- 
tiveness increased.  Such  a  practice  carried  on  for 
100  or  1,000  years  should  give  similar  results. 


122 


WHEAT 


CHAPTER  X 
WHEAT  ON  THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

Washington  is  the  leading  wheat  producing 
state  of  the  Pacific  slope.  Up  to  1900  California 
exceeded  Washington  in  wheat  production.  The 
total  crop  in  1900  was  28,543,628  bushels  for 
California  and  25,096,661  bushels  for  Washington. 
In  1912,  Washington  produced  53,414,000  bushels 
and  California  only  6,290,000  bushels.  The 
exhaustion  of  California's  wheat  lands  and  the 
development  of  agriculture  along  more  profitable 
lines  than  grain  farming  is  given  as  the  reason  for 
this  remarkable  falling  off  in  wheat  production. 

The  present  relation  of  the  acreage,  for  both 
spring  and  winter  wheat,  the  average  yields  per 
acre,  and  total  production  in  the  four  wheat  pro- 
ducing states  of  the  Pacific  coast  from  1910  to 
1912  are  given  in  the  following  table: 

TABLE  X 


STATE 

Spring  Wheat 

Winter  Wheat 

Total 
Production 
Bushels 

Average 
Acreage 
Acres 

Av'ge 
Yield 
per 
Acre 

Average 
Acreage 
Acres 

Av'ge 
Yield 
per 
Acre 

Idaho  
Washington.  .  . 
Oregon  
California.  .  .  . 

187,333 
1,139,000 
239,667 

25.9 
18.1 

18.4 

342,333 
861,333 
561,000 
600,000 

28.0 
25.1 
24.2 
17.7 

14,343,000 
43,226,000 
18,052,667 
10,676,667 

Tot'landAv'ge 

1,566,000 

20.8 

2,364,666 

23.8 

86,298,334 

WHEAT  123 

LARGE  SIZE  OF  FARMS 

Wheat  farming  on  the  Pacific  coast  is  remark- 
able for  the  gigantic  scale  in  which  it  is  carried 
on.  It  is  not  uncommon  for  a  single  farmer  to 
grow  several  thousand  acres  of  wheat  each 
year.  Some  of  the  larger  farms  exceed  5,000  acres 
in  area.  In  1907,  R.  C.  McCroskey,  near  Gar- 
field,  Washington,  in  the  famous  Palouse  country, 
harvested  and  threshed  46,000  bushels  of  wheat 
from  a  single  field  of  1,000  acres.  This  is  said  to 
be  the  largest  crop  of  wheat  ever  grown  in  one 
field.  While  Washington  has  some  of  the 
largest  wheat  farms  in  the  world,  the  very  large 
farms  are  the  exception,  the  average  wheat  farms 
ranging  in  size  from  160  to  640  acres.  In  the  other 
Pacific  slope  states  the  farms  average  less  in 
area  than  in  Washington. 

METHODS  IN  FARMING 

Wheat  raising  on  the  Pacific  coast  is  carried 
on  almost  entirely  by  dry  farming  methods. 
Irrigation  is  practiced  to  some  extent  in  Idaho 
and  California,  but  when  compared  with  the  dry 
farming  area  the  acreage  is  very  small.  Wheat 
is  grown  continuously  on  the  same  land,  little 
or  no  rotation  of  crops  being  practiced  in  the 
wheat  growing  sections,  but  the  usual  method 
now  coming  into  practice  is  to  summer  fallow  the 
land  about  every  third  year. 

Extensive  farming  and  continuous  grain  crop- 
ping have  exhausted  the  rather  limited  supply  of 
nitrogen  and  organic  matter  originally  contained 
in  most  of  these  semi-arid  soils.  The  result  is 


124  WHEAT 

that  grain  yields  are  beginning  to  decrease,  and 
wheat  farming  is  becoming  less  profitable  on  the 
older  lands,  especially  in  California. 

The  Pacific  coast  wheat  grower  is  up  against 
the  same  problems  that  confront  the  western 
plains  farmer — the  conservation  of  humus  and 
nitrogen  and  the  maintenance  of  the  productive- 
ness of  his  soil. 

In  the  California  experiment  station  Bulletin 
No.  211,  "How  to  Increase  the  Wheat  Yield," 
Professor  G.  W.  Shaw  comments  upon  past  and 
present  conditions  of  wheat  farming  in  California 
as  follows: 

"The  old  methods  of  grain  growing  still  persist 
in  California.  They  are  generally  very  simple  and 
very  crude.  At  first  satisfactory  returns  were 
obtained  because  of  an  unusually  fertile,  virgin 
soil.  At  the  outset  there  was  an  annual  cropping 
of  the  land  to  the  cereals  with  no  attempt  to 
either  rotate  crops  or  restore  any  of  the  humus 
that  such  a  system  destroys.  In  order  to  cover 
as  large  an  acreage  as  possible  the  crudest  methods 
of  culture  were  practiced.  The  practice  con- 
sisted simply  of  three  or  four-inch  plowing,  broad- 
casting the  seed,  and  harrowing  it  in.  But  little 
attention  was  paid  to  the  selection  of  pure  seed, 
and  far  too  often  the  growers  purchased  a  second 
or  a  third  grade  seed  under  the  false  notion  that 
anything  that  would  sprout  was  good  enough. 

"The  more  important  changes  which  have 
taken  place  since  the  introduction  of  the  above 
named  crude  practices  have  been  the  replacing 
of  the  header  and  stationary  thresher  by  the  com- 


WHEAT  125 

bined  harvester,  and  the  quite  general  introduc- 
tion of  the  practice  of  summer-fallowing  the  land. 

"The  development  of  the  combined  harvester 
has,  without  doubt,  decreased  the  cost  of  pro- 
duction where  grain  is  grown  upon  a  large  scale, 
but  it  has  at  the  same  time  tended  to  encour- 
age a  desultory  system  of  culture,  and  rendered 
the  fields  very  foul  through  a  general  distribution 
of  weed  seeds,  because  by  the  time  the  grain  is 
harvested  in  this  manner  practically  all  the  serious 
weeds  have  fully  ripened  their  seed;  and  further, 
the  length  of  time  the  grain  is  left  in  the  field 
after  maturity  has  tended  to  seriously  increase 
the  loss  from  shattering  by  the  wind.  It  is  very 
questionable,  then,  whether  the  combined  effects 
of  these  undesirable  factors  have  not  more  than 
offset  the  decreased  cost. 

"The  summer  fallow  (summer  tillage)  practice 
was  introduced  for  two  reasons;  first,  it  was  an 
attempt  to  save  as  much  of  two  season's  precipita- 
tion as  possible  for  the  production  of  a  single 
larger  crop;  second,  to  clean  the  land  of  weeds 
resulting  from  continued  grain  culture.  The  latter 
effect  has  been  largely  offset  by  the  use  of  the  com- 
bined harvester. 

"The  shallow  preparation  of  land  and  the  con- 
tinual practice  of  burning  off  the  straw  have  had 
a  very  bad  effect  upon  the  humus  content  of 
the  top  foot  of  the  soil,  which  in  turn  has  so 
affected  its  physical  condition,  generally  speaking, 
as  to  materially  reduce  its  moisture  capacity  and 
seriously  affect  the  yield  of  grain.  Further,  the 
earlier  seeding  made  possible  by  the  summer 


WHEAT  127 

fallow  practice  has  also  reduced  the  quality  of  the 
grain,  as  shown  by  the  analyses  of  a  large  number 
of  samples  of  early  and  late  seeded  grain. 

"During  recent  years,  mainly  as  a  result  of 
the  reduction  in  size  of  some  grain  farms,  and  the 
educational  efforts  conducted  by  the  university 
of  California  throughout  the  state,  there  has  been 
an  increase  of  the  depth  of  plowing  on  the  part  of 
some  farmers,  but  in  general  the  same  careless 
methods  of  culture  still  hold. 

"To  summarize,  the  general  effect  of  the  past 
and  present  methods  has  been  the  development 
of  a  poor  physical  condition  of  the  land,  largely 
a  result  of  the  depletion  of  the  humus,  until  the 
soil  refuses  to  produce  profitable  yields  of  the 
commonly  grown  varieties  of  wheat  under  the 
old  system  of  farming." 

CULTURE    METHODS   IN   WASHINGTON    AND 
OREGON 

The  culture  methods  practiced  in  Washington 
and  Oregon  are  perhaps  little  if  any  better  than 
those  in  California,  but  the  newer  lands  in  these 
states  have  not  yet  begun  to  show  the  decrease 
in  yield  which  will  surely  follow  continuous  grain 
growing.  The  experiment  stations  and  some  of 
the  farmers  are  trying  to  solve  the  problems  of 
restoring  the  humus  and  soil  nitrogen  and  thus 
maintain  the  soil  fertility.  Experiments  indicate 
that  this  may  be  accomplished  by  green  manuring, 
rotation  of  crops,  and  deeper  tillage;  but  it  is  a 
difficult  matter  to  rotate  crops  in  these  exclusively 
grain  raising  areas,  also  the  crops  which  are  hardy 


128  WHEAT 

and  well  adapted  for  green  manuring  have  not 
yet  been  fully  determined. 

INCREASING  THE  YIELD  BY  BETTER  CULTURE 

Deep  plowing  compared  with  shallow  plowing 
for  wheat  at  the  experiment  station  farm  at 
Davis,  California  in  forty  trials  gave  an  average 
increased  yield  of  37.4%.  At  the  San  Joaquin 
valley  station  it  was  found  that  adding  humus  to 
the  soil  by  green  manuring  with  rye  and  vetch 
increased  the  average  yield  244%,  compared  with 
growing  wheat  after  wheat,  and  the  green  ma- 
nuring plot  gave  62%  greater  yield  than  the  bare 
summer  fallow. 

The  relative  yields  were  given  as  follows:* 


Yield   per  Acre,   Bushels, 
Treatment  Average  for  1909  and  1910 


Wheat  after  wheat 15.7 

Bare  fallow 33.3 

Rye  and  vetch  (turned  under) 54.0 

Rye  alone  (turned  under) 52.3 


Professor  Shaw  concludes  from  these  and  other 
experiments  that  by  means  of  deeper  plowing  and 
better  culture  methods,  together  with  the  growing 
of  green  manuring  crops  during  the  winter,  the 
average  acre  yield  of  wheat  in  California  may  be 
doubled  and  at  the  same  time  the  soil  rendered 
more  fertile.  The  use  of  commercial  fertilizers 
did  not  as  a  rule  give  much  benefit  in  the_Cali- 
fornia  experiments. 


"California  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  No.  211. 


WHEAT  129 

CONSERVATION  OF  SOIL  MOISTURE 

Scientific  tillage  to  conserve  the  soil  moisture 
and  prepare  a  suitable  seed  and  root  bed  is  just 
as  important  in  dry  farming  on  the  Pacific  coast 
as  on  the  western  plains,  and  the  same  principles 
apply  though  the  practice  may  vary  somewhat. 

Professor  Geo.  Severance  of  the  Washington 
experiment  station  gives  the  following  summary  of 
methods  for  best  dry  farming  practice: 

"  1.  Keep  up  the  supply  of  humus  by  chopping 
in  all  the  straw  and  stubble  available. 

"2.  Disk  the  stubble  before  the  fall  and  winter 
rains  begin,  to  absorb  the  precipitation  as  quickly 
and  completely  as  possible. 

"3.  As  soon  as  the  soil  is  fit  to  work  in  spring 
work  up  two  to  four  inches  of  loose,  dry  soil  to 
hold  moisture. 

"4.  Follow  the  plow  as  closely  as  possible 
with  a  subsurface  packer. 

"5.  Harrow  wheat  in  spring  as  soon  after  the 
soil  is  fit  to  work  as  the  wheat  is  well  rooted. 

"Successful  dryland  tillage  does  not  call  so  much 
for  an  increased  amount  of  labor  as  for  labor 
properly  applied." 

VARIETIES  TO  GROW 

Club  head  wheat  (Triticum  sativum  compac- 
tum),  a  sub-species  of  common  wheat  (Triticum 
sativum  vulgare),  is  the  type  most  largely  grown 
in  the  Pacific  coast  states.  This  is  a  soft,  white 
wheat  not  so  valuable  for  milling  as  the  wheat 
of  the  western  plains,  for  it  is  necessary  to  blend 
9 


130  WHEAT 

it  with  hard  wheat  in  milling  in  order  to  make 
good  flour.  The  club  wheat  is  grown  because  of 
its  peculiar  characteristics  which  make  it  suitable 
to  the  climatic  conditions  and  to  the  harvesting 
methods  commonly  practiced.  The  climate  being 
always  dry  at  harvest  time,  the  grain  is  left  in 
the  field  until  it  is  fully  ripe,  when  it  is  harvested 
with  the  "combine"  which  harvests  and  threshes 
the  wheat  at  a  single  operation.  It  is  desirable 
therefore  that  the  wheat  should  stand  erect  and 
not  shatter.  The  Club  Head  is  peculiar  in  this 
respect.  It  has  a  very  compact  spike  without 
beards  and  a  stiff,  short  straw.  It  is  a  rapid- 
growing,  early-maturing,  erect-growing,  non-shat- 
tering variety  which  is  well  adapted  to  the  con- 
ditions. It  is  also  hardy  and  a  good  yielder. 
Hence  it  has  held  its  place  as  the  most  popular 
variety  in  spite  of  its  poor  milling  quality. 

In  the  Pacific  coast  states,  wheat  varieties  are 
classed  as  "spreading"  or  "erect,"  referring  to  the 
early  habit  of  growth  of  the  plants.  Certain 
varieties,  largely  grown  in  the  central  and  western 
states,  including  nearly  all  the  varieties  of  com- 
mon wheat,  spread  out  or  stool  for  sometime  before 
shooting.  These  varieties  do  not  cover  and  shade 
the  ground  quickly  and  do  not  check  weed 
growth. 

The  "erect"  growing  varieties  of  the  club  head 
type  shoot  up  quickly  and  soon  shade  the  soil 
and  check  weed  growth,  thus  the  wheat  keeps 
ahead  of  the  weeds.  This  is  an  important  factor 
in  wheat  culture  in  the  Pacific  coast  states,  be- 
cause of  the  foul,  weedy  condition  of  the  wheat 


WHEAT  131 

land  caused  by  continuous  cropping  with  grain 
which  is  harvested  with  the  "combine"  that 
scatters  the  weed  seeds  again.  Hence  the  "  spread- 
ing" varieties  are  not  well  adapted  to  the  pre- 
vailing conditions  and  the  general  culture  methods. 
The  "spreading"  varieties,  such  as  Turkey  Red, 
Crimean  and  Gold  Coin  are  grown  in  limited  area 
by  irrigation,  and  such  varieties  may  be  suited 
to  small  farming  where  rotation  of  crops  is  prac- 
ticed and  where  the  wheat  is  harvested  with  the 
binder. 

WINTER  OR  SPRING  WHEAT 

Winter  wheat  is  grown  almost  exclusively  in 
California.  In  Washington  and  Oregon  the  areas 
devoted  to  spring  wheat  and  winter  wheat  are 
about  equal.  There  seems  to  be  no  settled  prac- 
tice among  the  wheat  growers,  either  as  regards 
season  of  planting  or  variety  grown.  Thus  winter 
wheat  may  be  grown  largely  in  one  locality,  while 
an  adjacent  locality,  grows  spring  wheat. 
Club  and  blue  stem  are  the  principal  spring 
varieties;  winter  fife  and  Turkey  are  the  common 
winter  varieties. 

WHEAT  IMPROVEMENT 

A  successful  attempt  has  been  made  by  the 
Washington  experiment  station  to  improve  the 
varieties  of  wheat  by  crossing  the  soft,  erect 
spring  club  varieties  with  the  hard  winter  wheat 
of  the  Turkey  type  to  secure  hardy,  erect  winter 
varieties  which  shall  be  non-shattering  and  of 
better  milling  quality  than  the  original  club  wheat. 


132 


WHEAT 


Several  hydrids  have  thus  been  produced  and 
fixed  in  type,  which  appear  to  give  the  desired 
results.  Improved  seed  of  these  varieties  is  now 
being  distributed  to  the  farmers.  Wheat  improve- 
ment is  also  being  brought  about  by  the  farmers 
through  selection  and  grading  of  seed  wheat. 

FARMING  PRACTICE  AND  PROFITS 

The  farming  practice  in  use  on  the  Pacific  coast 
wheat  farms,  while  not  as  thorough  as  it  might 
be,  is  modern.  Large  machinery  is  used  in  tilling 
the  soil.  Engine  plows  are  common.  The  harvest- 
ing is  done  with  the  combination  harvester  and 
thresher,  which  is  propelled  usually  by  thirty-two 
horses  or  by  a  traction  engine.  Binders  are 
seldom  used.  The  fertile  soil  producing  large 
yields  and  the  cheap  and  extensive  methods  of 
culture  have  made  Pacific  coast  wheat  farming 
very  profitable.  The  cost  of  raising  and  market- 


Fig.  31. — Large  machinery  is  used  in  tilling  the  soil. 


WHEAT  133 

ing  wheat  in  the  Palouse  country  is  given  as 
26  to  40  cents  per  bushel,  depending  on  the  season, 
the  method  of  farming  and  the  distance  from 
market.  An  even  lower  cost  of  production  is  re- 
ported for  the  Great  Bend  country  and  other 
wheat  growing  areas  in  Washington. 

The  average  export  price  of  wheat  for  the  five 
years,  1906-1910,  was  eighty-fiv^  and  one-half 
cents  per  bushel.*  The  average  total  wheat 
marketed  by  the  four  states  per  year  for  four 
years  1906  to  1909  was  49,493,041  bushels.  The 
wheat  is  all  handled  in  sacks.  There  are  no  grain 
elevators.  In  their  place,  ware  houses  are  used 
and  open  platforms  on  which  the  grain  is  piled 
to  await  shipment. 

In  1906  there  were  in  operation  in  Oregon, 
Washington  and  Idaho,  241  flour  mills  with  a 
combined  output  of  40,620  barrels  of  flour  per  day. 
Nearly  two-thirds  of  the  wheat  produced  is  used 
for  home  consumption  in  the  coast  states  or  in 
the  adjacent  mountain  states.  The  excess  is 
exported  largely  to  China  and  Japan.  The  total 
exports  of  wheat  from  Pacific  ports  in  the  United 
States  averaged  29,000,000  bushels  per  year  for 
five  years,  1906  to  1910. 


"United  States  Bureau  of  Statistics  Bulletin  No.  89. 


134  WHEAT 

CHAPTER  XI 
WHEAT  GROWING  IN  CANADA 

A  PART  OF  THE  GREAT  PLAIN 

"  The  western  provinces  of  Canada  are  really  one 
vast  prairie  which  is  included  in  the  great  plains  re- 
gion. Commencing  some  fifty  miles  east  of  Winni- 
peg this  prairie  extends  westward  over  800  miles  to 
the  foothills  of  the  Rockies.  It  is  really  a  series 
of  three  great  plains,  viz:  (1)  The  Red  River 
valley,  a  low,  flat  prairie,  800  feet  above  the  sea, 
7,000  square  miles  in  area,  extending  from  about 
the  96th  to  the  100th  meridian,  embracing  the 
richest  wheat  lands  of  Manitoba.  (2)  The  middle 
prairie  extending  from  about  the  100th  to  the  108th 
meridian,  with  an  average  elevation  of  1,600  feet, 
about  105,000  square  miles  in  area,  one-half  of 
which  is  fairly  level  open  prairie  and  mostly 
good  fertile  soil.  (3)  The  'third  steppe'  extending 
from  the  108th  meridian  to  the  Rockies,  including 
Alberta  and  the  western  portion  of  Saskatchewan, 
average  elevation  3,000  feet,  area  134,000  square 
miles,  topography  more  varied  than  the  second 
plain  but  containing  much  fertile  land."* 

The  prairie  soils  of  western  Canada  are  uni- 
formly rich  in  plant  food,  especially  in  nitrogen. 
The  large  proportion  of  organic  matter  and  humus 
gives  these  soils  great  moisture  holding  capacity 
and  an  agreeable  physical  condition  favorable 
to  the  action  of  soil  bacteria  and  rapid  plant 
growth.  Actual  determinations  by  Prof.  Frank 

*Hand  Book  of  Canada,  1897. 


WHEAT  135 

T.  Shutt,  the  government  chemist  at  Ottawa,  of 
samples  of  Red  River  valley  soil  gave  an  organic 
matter  content  exceeding  26%  in  black,  heavy 
loam  taken  near  Morris,  and  over  11%  in  black 
sandy  loam  taken  at  Brandon,  Manitoba.  Six 
other  Red  River  valley  samples  gave  an  organic 
matter  content  varying  from  11.44  to  21.54%. 
In  Saskatchewan  twelve  typical  samples  from 
various  parts  of  the  province  gave  an  organic 
matter  content  varying  from  5.54%  in  heavy  clay 
loam  near  Maple  Creek,  to  14.23%  in  grayish- 
black  loam  near  Tisdale.  The  other  samples  gave 
percentages  varying  from  10.20  to  13.93%. 

In  Alberta  the  organic  content  of  the  soil  is 
more  variable  but  averages  nearly  as  high  as  in 
Saskatchewan,  the  variation  for  nine  typical 
samples  being  5.89%  in  a  dark-gray  sandy  loam 
at  Lethbridge,  to  17.83%  in  a  black  sandy  loam 
at  Lac  la  Nonne.  The  percentage  of  phosphoric 
acid,  potash  and  lime  averaged  very  high  in  all 
of  the  soils.* 

Portions  of  Manitoba  and  Saskatchewan  abound 
in  lakes  and  ponds.  Some  areas  are  too  flat  and 
need  drainage  before  the  land  can  be  farmed  suc- 
cessfully. The  soil  is  of  glacial  origin,  and  as  pre- 
viously stated  it  is  usually  very  fertile  and  of  great 
depth.  It  will  not  "wear  out"  with  a  few  years 
of  cropping,  but  there  are  other  factors  of  un- 
certainty which  may  greatly  reduce  production 
in  unfavorable  seasons.  The  greatest  of  these  are 
drouth  and  early  frosts.  The  damage  from  early 
frosts  may  be  in  part  overcome  by  planting  early 

*Department  of  Agriculture  of  Canada  Bulletin  No.  6. 


WHEAT  137 

maturing  varieties  of  wheat  which  have  been 
bred  and  adapted  to  the  climate  and  soil.  The 
injurious  effects  of  drouth  may  be  largely  pre- 
vented by  clean  summer  fallowing  and  by  prac- 
ticing scientific  methods  of  culture  adapted  to  dry 
farming.  Irrigation  is  practiced  to  some  extent 
in  Alberta,  and  limited  areas  may  be  irrigated 
in  other  provinces,  but  crops  are  largely  grown 
by  dry  farming  methods  and  this  will  continue 
since  it  will  never  be  possible  to  irrigate  any  large 
part  of  the  tillable  lands  of  this  vast  region. 

The  Canadian  west  from  the  100th  meridian 
to  the  mountains  is  a  "  dry  "  country.  The  rainfall 
is  variable,  ranging  from  9  to  30  inches  for  differ- 
ent years  and  different  sections  of  the  country. 
According  to  Stupart  the  total  annual  precipita- 
tion for  Saskatchewan  and  Alberta  averages  less 
than  fourteen  inches  and  17.34  inches  is  given  as 
the  average  annual  rainfall  of  Manitoba. 

Other  rainfall  data  is  given  as  follows:  Annual 
at  Edmonton  (13  years)  18.44  inches;  at  Regina, 
(7  years)  14.77  inches;  at  Prince  Albert,  17.95 
inches.  Prince  Albert,  in  Latitude  53°-10'  is  the 
farthest  north  point  in  the  Saskatchewan  valley 
where  wheat  is  grown  to  any  extent.  The  average 
annual  rainfall  at  each  of  the  several  government 
experimental  farms  for  four  years,  1908-1911  is 
computed  as  follows: 

Inches 

Brandon,  S.  Manitoba 17.62 

Indian  Head,  S.  Saskatchewan 18.63 

Lethbridge,  S.  Alberta 13.55 

Lacombe,  C.  Alberta 16.70 

The  total  average  rainfall  for  the  six  growing 


138  WHEAT 

months,  April  1  to  October  1  for  twenty-one  years, 
at  Indian  Head  is  given  as  12.93  inches — almost 
as  great  as  the  average  rainfall  at  Ottawa  for  the 
same  period.  Thus  while  the  annual  rainfall  is 
deficient,  judging  by  eastern  standards,  there  is 
this  advantage — about  70%  of  the  rainfall  comes 
during  the  growing  season.  June  and  July  are 
usually  the  months  of  greatest  rainfall. 

WHEAT  GROWING  AREAS 

Prof.  Charles  E.  Saunders,  cerealist  of  the 
dominion  experimental  farms,  has  divided  Canada 
into  six  chief  wheat  producing  sections  as  follows: 

1.  The    Maritime    Provinces — Nova     Scotia, 
Prince  Edward  Island,  and  New  Brunswick — Not 
very  much  wheat  is  grown  in  this  section — mostly 
spring  sown — kernels  plump  but  rather  soft  and 
starchy — best  varieties — Preston,  Huron,  Stanley, 
Pringle's  Champlain,  Red  Fife  and  Marquis. 

2.  Quebec  and  Northern  Ontario:  Small  acreage— 
mostly  spring  wheats — medium  hard  and  good 
quality  for  milling — best  varieties — Huron,  Pres- 
ton, Bishop,  Marquis,  Red  Fife  and  White  Fife. 

3.  Southern  Ontario:    561,000  acres  in  1912— 
mostly  winter  wheat — large,   plump    grain   but 
soft  and  quite  starchy — best  varieties — Dawson's 
Golden  Chaff  (beardless),  Turkey  Red  (bearded), 
Egyptian  Amber  and  Tasmania  Red. 

4.  Manitoba,  Saskatchewan  and  Northern  and 
Central  Alberta:    A  large  territory — large  acreage— 
mostly  spring  wheat — hard,  glutinous  kernels- 
excellent   quality    for    milling — best  varieties- 
Marquis  and  Prelude  (very  early),  Huron,  Pres- 


WHEAT  139 

ton,  Pringle's  Champlain,  Bishop,  Chelsea,  Red 
Fife  and  White  Fife. 

5.  Southern  Alberta:    The  great  winter  wheat 
section  of  Canada;    (some  spring  wheat  grown)— 
produces  the  best  quality  of  hard  red  winter  wheat, 
unexcelled   for  milling— yields  large — best  vari- 
eties— Turkey  Red  (bearded),  Kharkof  (bearded), 
and  Ghirka  (beardless).     Seed  of  these  varieties, 
secured  from  the  Kansas  experiment  station  in 
1907  and  1908.     The  old  "Alberta  Red,"  still 
extensively  grown,  is  a  Turkey  Red  wheat  but  not 
so  well  bred  as  the  new  importations. 

6.  British  Columbia:    Small  acreage  as  yet- 
variable  climate — winter    and    spring   varieties 
grown. 

'VARIETIES 

In  the  classification  of  wheat  growing  areas 
given  above  the  varieties  recommended  for  sowing 
are  mainly  in  the  order  of  their  highest  yields. 
The  oldest  variety  of  wheat  in  Canada  and  the 
variety  which  is  most  widely  grown  and  most 
highly  esteemed  is  Red  Fife.  This  wheat  is 
remarkable  for  its  productiveness,  for  its  hard 
quality  and  high  milling  value,  and  for  its  power  of 
adapting  itself  to  varying  conditions  of  soil  and 
climate.  Fife  wheat  was  originated  or  discovered 
by  an  Ontario  farmer,  Mr.  David  Fife,  after  whom 
it  is  named.  In  1842,  Mr.  Fife  obtained  a  small 
sample  of  wheat  from  a  friend  in  Glasgow,  Scot- 
land. It  came  in  the  spring,  and  not  knowing 
whether  it  was  a  winter  or  spring  variety,  he 
planted  some  of  it.  It  proved  to  be  a  winter  wheat 


140  WHEAT 

and  never  ripened,  except  three  heads  which  ap- 
parently grew  from  a  single  seed.  The  grain  from 
these  heads  was  saved  and  planted  the  next 
season  and  the  product  was  saved  and  planted 
again,  and  from  it  sprang  the  variety  of  wheat 
known  all  over  Canada  and  the  northern  states  as 
Red  Fife  or  Scotch  Fife. 

EARLY    MATURING    VARIETIES    ESSENTIAL 

The  Red  Fife  wheat  had  many  points  of  excel- 
lence, but  for  growing  in  the  more  northern 
climates  it  had  one  serious  fault — it  was  rather 
too  late  in  maturing,  and  in  seasons  of  early  frosts 
the  grain  was  likely  to  be  injured  and  reduced 
in  yield  and  value.  This  condition  caused  a  de- 
mand on  the  part  of  the  Canadian  growers  for 
an  earlier  ripening  wheat.  Dr.  William  Saunders, 
director  of  the  dominion  experimental  farms,  met 
this  demand  by  importing  early  maturing  varieties 
of  wheat  from  northern  Russia  and  India.  These 
varieties  proved  to  be  inferior  in  quality  and  yield, 
but  by  crossing  them  with  Red  Fife,  a  number  of 
new  varieties  have  been  produced  which  are 
earlier  than  the  Red  Fife,  and  in  some  cases 
nearly  as  good  in  quality  and  which  produce  large 
yields  and  are  well  adapted  for  growing  in  the 
western  provinces.  Several  of  these  varieties 
such  as  Preston,  Huron,  Bishop  and  Stanley  are 
well  known  throughout  Canada  and  the  northern 
states.  More  recent  introductions  are  the  Marquis 
and  Prelude,  which  are  proving  to  be  the  earliest 
and  hardiest  of  the  SaundersVarieties. 

In  thus  producing  these  early  hardy  varieties 


WHEAT  141 

Dr.  Saunders  has  rendered  a  most  valuable 
service  to  the  wheat  growers  of  the  northwest, 
which  not  only  makes  wheat  farming  much  more 
sure  and  profitable  but  it  has  allowed  for  the  ex- 
tension of  wheat  culture  to  more  northern  lati- 
tudes than  was  ever  dreamed  of  before  these 
hybrid  wheats  were  introduced.  It  is  reported 
that  Ladoga  wheat,  one  of  the  early  Russian 
varieties,  has  been  matured  at  Ft.  Vermillion  in 
latitude  58°-30'— 600  miles  north  of  the  Montana- 
Alberta  boundary  line,  and  591  miles  north  of 
Winnipeg.  A  sample  of  sixty-two  pound  wheat 
was  produced  at  Ft.  Simpson,  818  miles  north 
of  Winnipeg. 

DURUM  WHEAT 

Durum  wheat  is  grown  to  a  limited  extent  in 
Canada.  It  yields  well  in  the  eastern  provinces 
and  is  particularly  productive  in  the  drier  climates. 
It  is  hardier  and  more  drouth  resistant  than  or- 
dinary wheat  and  often  out-yields  the  common 
wheat  where  it  matures  well.  The  durum  varieties 
are  later  in  maturing  than  the  earlier  varieties  of 
the  common  type.  The  durum  wheat  is  unpopular 
with  millers  for  flour  making  because  of  its  extreme 
hardness  and  the  yellowish  color  of  the  flour.  It 
should  be  grown  only  for  a  special  purpose  or 
market  and  in  considerable  area  so  that  it  may  be 
handled  by  separate  elevators  or  in  carload  lots. 
Durum  wheat  usually  sells  at  a  less  price  than 
good  milling  wheat  of  similar  grade  and  quality. 
Kubanka  and  Wild  Goose  are  standard  varieties 
and  recommended  for  general  planting. 


142  WHEAT 

WINTER  WHEAT  VARIETIES 

The  winter  wheat  districts  of  Canada  are  quite 
distinct  and  limited  in  area.  There  are  two  prin- 
cipal areas:  southern  Ontario  and  southern 
Alberta.  The  climate  of  southern  Ontario  is 
quite  humid  and  not  favorable  to  producing  a 
good  quality  of  hard  wheat.  Soft  or  semi-hard 
wheats  succeed  best,  such  as  Dawson's  Golden 
Chaff,  Gold  Coin,  Early  Red  Clawson,  Red 
Velvet  Chaff  and  Red  Chief;  but  the  Turkey  and 
Kharkof  varieties  are  also  grown  and  produce 
a  better  quality  of  grain  but  give  less  yield  as  a 
rule  than  the  other  sorts.  The  climate  of  south- 
ern Alberta  is  quite  dry  and  the  winters  are  long, 
but  the  severe  cold  which  prevails  farther  east  in 
Manitoba  and  Saskatchewan  is  moderated  in 
Alberta  by  the  warm  winds  ("Chinook"  winds) 
which  blow  over  the  mountains  from  the  south- 
west. 

The  area  which  is  most  affected  and  which  is 
best  adapted  for  growing  winter  wheat  lies  along 
the  base  of  the  mountains  and  extends  from  the 
Montana  line  north  to  Calgary,  a  distance  of  200 
miles,  and  varies  in  width  from  100  to  200  miles. 
In  this  favored  area  large  yields  of  an  excellent 
quality  of  hard  red  winter  wheat  are  produced. 
This  wheat  has  been  given  a  market  grade  and 
is  called  "Alberta  Red." 

The  original  "Alberta  Red"  was  simply  Turkey 
wheat,  the  seed  of  which  was  imported  from  south- 
ern Nebraska  in  1901.  This  stock  was  impure 
and  mixed  as  the  writer  discovered  during  his 
visit  to  Alberta  in  1907,  where  he  was  sent  by  the 


WHEAT  143 

state  of  Kansas  to  study  Alberta  wheat  with  the 
purpose  of  importing  seed  wheat  to  Kansas. 
Because  the  wheat  was  mixed  and  of  scrub  breed- 
ing, I  did  not  recommend  the  importation  of 
"Alberta  Red"  seed  wheat  into  Kansas  notwith- 
standing its  excellent  quality,  since  our  best 
Kansas  varieties  were  superior  in  purity  and  breed- 
ing. I  called  the  attention  of  W.  H.  Fairfield, 
superintendent  of  the  southern  Alberta  experi- 
mental farm  to  this  condition,  and  advised  that 
he  secure  some  of  our  Improved  Kansas  Seed 
Wheat,  which  he  did. 

The  Kansas  bred  Turkey  and  Kharkof  proved 
to  be  superior  to  the  best  "Alberta  Red",  pro- 
ducing from  seven  to  ten  bushels  larger  yields 
per  acre  in  the  first  trials,  thus  demonstrating 
the  importance  of  pure  breeding.  (See  annual 
report  of  southern  Alberta  experimental  farm  for 
1909.)  Seed  of  these  pure  bred  Kansas  strains 
has  been  widely  distributed  in  Alberta,  so  these 
wheats  are  now  grown  quite  generally  throughout 
the  province. 

WORK  OF  PROFESSOR  ZAVITZ 

Attention  has  already  been  called  to  the  work 
of  Dr.  Saunders  in  producing  earlier  maturing 
varieties  of  wheat  by  hydridization  and  selection. 
This  breeding  work  is  being  continued  at  several 
Canadian  experiment  stations.  Doubtless,  the 
durum  wheats  may  be  improved  and  made  earlier 
by  selection  and  breeding.  This  work  is  already 
being  attempted  by  the  agricultural  college  at 
Guelph,  Ontario,  which  college  under  the  direction 


144  WHEAT 

of  Prof.  C.  A.  Zavitz  has  done  a  great  amount  of 
work  in  seed  grading  and  seed  selection.  Profes- 
sor Zavitz  has  shown  by  a  large  number  of  experi- 
ments with  many  varieties  that  the  selection  of  the 
larger  and  heavier  wheat  kernels  for  seed  has  al- 
most invariably  given  the  largest  yields.  This  work 
has  established  the  importance  of  grading  seed 
wheat  and — has  caused  the  farmers  to  fan  and 
grade  their  seed  wheat  more  carefully,  which  in  the 
judgment  of  the  writer,  is  one  of  the  reasons  for  the 
increased  acre-yield  in  Canada,  noted  for  the  past 
few  seasons. 

The  grading  of  seed  grain  and  the  planting  of  the 
heavy  seed  is  perhaps  more  necessary  in  western 
Canada  than  in  the  states  because  of  the  liability 
to  injury  of  the  grain  by  early  frosts.  The  lighter, 
shrunken  kernels  are  naturally  the  ones  which  are 
most  likely  to  have  been  injured  by  frost.  The  im- 
provement of  seed  wheat  and  other  seed  grain  has 
also  been  greatly  promoted  by  the  Canadian 
Seed  Growers  Association  which  was  organized  in 
1904.  This  association  consists  of  farmers  who 
desire  to  make  a  speciality  of  growing  on  their 
own  farms,  one  or  more  varieties  of  "high  class" 
seed  under  the  expert  direction  of  the  government 
experiment  station,  for  the  purpose  of  increasing 
and  distributing  the  better  seed  by  sale  to  other 
growers. 

The  association  had  200  operating  members  in 
1910.  A  large  amount  of  the  best  seed  of  all  kinds 
of  crops  is  grown  and  distributed  in  this  way. 
The  association  holds  annual  meetings  which  are 
largely  attended. 


146  WHEAT 

CHAPTER  XII 
CULTURE  METHODS 

This  chapter  will  relate  largely  to  spring 
wheat,  since  it  is  the  type  most  largely  grown. 
The  growing  of  wheat  in  the  eastern  provinces  is 
comparatively  limited  and  of  relatively  small  im- 
portance. The  grain  is  grown  in  rotation  with 
other  crops  and  in  connection  with  the  raising  of 
livestock.  The  culture  methods  pursued  are 
similar  to  those  adapted  to  the  eastern  states. 

The  great  wheat  fields  are  in  western  Canada 
where  there  are  millions  of  acres  of  new  land 
available  for  wheat  growing,  not  yet  under  cultiva- 
tion. This  great  area  is  being  rapidly  settled. 
Millions  of  acres  of  prairie  sod  have  been  broken 
in  the  last  ten  years.  Millions  more  will  be 
broken  in  the  next  ten  years.  It  is  possible  and 
profitable  to  use  large  machinery  in  the  wheat 
farming  of  west  Canada.  Here  on  the  wide 
prairies  the  big  engine  plows,  the  large  harrows 
and  disks,  and  the  big  twelve  and  fourteen  foot 
drills  can  be  used  to  the  greatest  advantage. 
The  size  of  the  machinery  used  should  suit  the 
size  of  the  farm.  The  160-acre  farmer  may  use 
his  sulky  plow  and  two  or  three  horse  harrow, 
but  farming  on  a  large  scale  requires  the  use  of 
large  machinery  and  strong  power.  On  the  larger 
farms,  four,  six  and  eight  horse  teams  and  ma- 
chinery to  match  is  or  should  be  the  rule,  and  this 
method  should  bring  the  greatest  profit.  Many  of 
the  new  settlers  must  necessarily  begin  in  a  small 
way  because  they  are  limited  as  to  capital  and 


148  WHEAT 

equipment.  It  is  important,  therefore,  that  they 
should  begin  right  and  make  all  their  work  count 
towards  producing  good  crops.  The  success  or 
failure  of  a  new  settler  may  often  depend  upon  the 
method  employed  in  the  preparation  of  the  land 
for  the  first  crop.  Hence,  the  question  of  breaking 
is  of  the  utmost  importance. 

BREAKING  PRAIRIE  SOD 

New  settlers  as  a  rule  are  anxious  to  sow  every 
acre  possible,  regardless  of  how  or  when  the  break- 
ing was  done.  Breaking  done  before  July  1, 
while  the  soil  is  moist  and  in  good  plowing  con- 
dition will  usually  produce  a  good  crop  of  wheat, 
or  other  small  grain  the  following  season;  but 
as  a  rule  such  land  will  fail  to  produce  a  profitable 
crop  the  second  season  after  breaking  because  of 
the  dry,  undecayed  and  unfavorable  physical 
condition  of  the  soil.  Sod  broken  after  July  1st 
will  usually  remain  dry  and  unrotted  and  the 
planting  of  late  breaking,  the  first  season  after 
breaking,  often  results  in  crop  failure  and  such 
land  may  remain  in  bad  physical  condition  and 
unproductive  for  several  seasons,  if  continuously 
cropped. 

BREAKING  AND  BACKSETTING 

Early  shallow  breaking  and  backsetting  2  to  4 
inches  deeper  than  the  breaking  is  the  best  and 
most  successful  method  of  preparing  new  land 
for  wheat  on  the  western  Canadian  prairies.  In 
some  areas  where  the  sod  is  thin  and  the  soil  is 
light,  single  early  breaking  5  or  6  inches  deep, 


WHEAT 


149 


followed  by  thorough  disking  may  give  good  re- 
sults. 

Writing  on  this  subject  Prof.  Angus  Mackay, 
superintendent  of  the  experimental  farm  for 
southern  Saskatchewan,  discusses  "breaking  and 
backsetting"  as  follows: 

"Breaking  and  backsetting  means  the  plowing 
of  the  prairie  sod  as  shallow  as  possible  before  the 
June  or  early  July  rains  are  over,  and  in  August 
or  September,  when  the  sod  will  have  become 
thoroughly  rotted  by  the  rains  and  hot  sun, 
plowing  two  or  three  inches  deeper  in  the  same 
direction  and  then  harrowing  to  make  a  fine  and 
firm  seed  bed.  From  land  prepared  in  this  way 
two  good  crops  of  wheat  may  be  expected.  The 
first  crop  will  be  heavy  and  the  stubble,  if  cut 
high  at  harvest  time,  will  retain  sufficient  snow  to 


Fig.  35. — A  first-class  job  of  breaking. 


150  WHEAT 

produce  the  moisture  required,  even  in  the  driest 
spring,  to  germinate  the  seed  for  the  next  crop. 
The  stubble-land  can  readily  be  burned  on  a  day 
in  the  spring  with  a  warm,  steady  wind  and  the 
seed  may  be  sown  with  or  without  further  cultiva- 
tion. In  a  case  where  the  grass  roots  have  not 
been  entirely  killed  by  the  backsetting,  a  shallow 
cultivation  before  seeding  will  be  found  advan- 
tageous but  as  a  rule  the  harrowing  of  the  land  with 
a  drag-harrow  after  seeding  will  be  sufficient. 

"The  principal  objection  urged  to  'breaking and 
backsetting'  is  heavy  work  for  the  teams  required 
in  backsetting,  but  if  the  disking  required  to 
reduce  deep-breaking  and  the  other  cultivation 
that  must  be  done  to  obtain  a  second  crop, 
be  taken  into  consideration,  it  must  be  conceded 
that  in  the  end  'breaking  and  backsetting'  is  the 
cheaper  and  better  method. 

"  When  two  crops  have  been  taken  from  new  land 
it  should  be  summer-fallowed." 

In  his  "Methods  of  Preparing  Soil  for  Grain 
Crops/'  Professor  MacKay  says: 

"In  view  of  the  .fact  that  every  year  brings 
to  the  northwest  many  new  settlers  who  are  un- 
acquainted with  the  methods  of  breaking  up  and 
preparing  new  land  for  crops,  a  few  suggestions 
with  regard  to  this  important  work  may  not  be 
amiss. 

"In  all  sections  where  the  sod  is  thick  and 
tough,  breaking  and  backsetting  should  be  done ; 
while  in  the  districts  where  bluffs  abound  and  the 
sod  is  thin,  deep  breaking  is  all  that  is  necessary. 

"The  former  is  generally  applicable  to  the 


WHEAT  151 

southern  and  western  portions,  and  the  latter  to 
the  northeastern  part  of  Saskatchewan,  where 
the  land  is  more  or  less  covered  with  bluffs." 

"The  sod  should  be  turned  over  as  thin  as 
possible,  (2  to  3  inches  deep).  When  the  breaking 
is  completed  (which  should  not  be  later  than  the 
second  week  in  July),  rolling  will  hasten  the  rotting 
process  and  permit  backsetting  to  commence  early 
in  August. 

"Backsetting  is  merely  turning  the  sod  back 
to  its  original  place,  and  at  the  same  time  bringing 
up  two  or  three  inches  of  fresh  soil  to  cover  it. 
The  plowing  should  be  done  in  the  same  direction 
as  the  breaking  and  the  same  width  of  furrow 
turned.  Two  inches  below  the  breaking  is  con- 
sidered deep  enough,  but  three  to  four  inches  will 
give  better  results. 

"After  backsetting,  the  soil  cannot  be  made  too 
fine,  and  the  use  of  a  disk  or  Randall  harrow  to 
cut  up  every  piece  of  unrotted  sod,  will  complete 
the  work." 

DEEP  BREAKING 

"Deep  breaking,  which  in  some  sections  of  the 
country  is  the  only  practicable  way  of  preparing 
new  land,  and  which  is,  unfortunately,  done  in 
some  instances  where  'breaking  and  backsetting' 
would  give  much  more  satisfactory  results,  con- 
sists in  the  turning  over  of  the  sod  as  deeply  as 
possible,  usually  from  four  to  five  inches.  When 
the  sod  has  rotted,  the  top  soil  should  be  worked 
and  made  as  fine  as  possible.  The  use  of  the 
harrow  or  disk  will  fill  up  all  irregularities  on  the 
surface  and  make  a  fine,  even  seed-bed. 


152  WHEAT 

"Whether  the  land  is  broken  shallow  or  deep, 
it  is  necessary  to  have  the  work  completed  early, 
so  as  to  take  advantage  of  the  rains  which  usually 
come  in  June  or  early  in  July.  These  rains  cause 
the  sod  to  rot,  and  without  them,  or  if  the  plowing 
is  done  after  they  are  over,  the  sod  remains  in  the 
same  condition  as  when  turned,  and  no  amount  of 
work  will  make  up  for  the  loss." 

CLEAN   SUMMER  FALLOW 

While  there  are  some  objections  to  summer 
tilling  land,  such  as  soil  drifting,  overproduction 
of  straw  in  wet  seasons  and  waste  of  soil  fertility, 
yet  in  a  dry  climate  and  a  country  given  largely 
to  grain  raising,  there  does  not  seem  to  be  any 
other  practical  method  of  keeping  the  land  in 
productive  condition. 

The  principal  advantages  of  summer  tilling 
are:  The  conservation  of  soil  moisture,  the  eradica- 
tion of  weeds  (the  soil  becomes  foul  with  weeds  by 
continuous  grain  cropping),  the  preparation  of 
the  land  for  wheat  when  other  work  is  not  pressing, 
the  availability  of  summer  tilled  land  for  early 
spring  seeding,  and  the  ability  to  secure  two  good 
crops  after  the  fallow  with  only  a  small  amount 
of  cultivation  beside  that  required  to  complete 
the  fallow. 

METHODS  OF  FALLOWING 

Different  methods  are  practiced  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  fallow  land.  When  the  plan  has  been  to  con- 
serve the  June  and  July  rains  and  prevent  the 
growth  and  seeding  of  weeds,  success  is  almost 


WHEAT  153 

sure;  but  when  the  plowing  is  done  late  and  cul- 
tivation is  neglected,  failure  is  likely  to  result. 
Writing  on  methods  of  summer  fallowing, 
Professor  MacKay  says  in  the  report  referred  to 
above : 

"The  true  worth  of  properly  prepared  fallows 
has  been  clearly  demonstrated  in  past  years  in 
every  district  of  Saskatchewan. 

"The  work  of  preparing  land  for  crop  by  fallow- 
ing is  carried  on  in  so  many  ways  in  different  parts 
of  the  country,  that  perhaps  a  few  words  on  some 
of  the  methods  employed  may  be  of  use  to  at  least 
some  of  the  new  settlers. 

"It  has  been  observed  in  some  parts  of  Sas- 
katchewan that  the  land  to  be  fallowed  is  not,  as 
a  rule,  touched  until  the  weeds  are  full  grown  and 
in  many  cases,  bearing  fully  matured  seed.  It  is 
then  plowed. 

"  By  this  method,  which  no  doubt  saves  work 
at  the  time,  the  very  object  of  a  summer-fallow  is 
defeated.  In  the  first  place,  moisture  is  not  con- 
served because  the  land  has  been  pumped  dry  by 
the  heavy  growth  of  weeds;  and,  secondly,  in- 
stead of  using  the  summer-fallow  as  a  means  of 
eradicating  weeds,  a  foundation  is  laid  for  years 
of  labor  and  expense  by  the  myriads  of  foul  seeds 
turned  under. 

"The  endless  fields  of  yellow-flowered  weeds, 
generally  Ball  Mustard  (Neslia  paniculata),  testify 
to  the  indifferent  work  done  in  many  districts,  and, 
while  no  weed  is  more  easily  eradicated  by  a  good 
system  of  fallows,  there  is  no  weed  that  is  more 
easily  propagated  or  takes  greater  advantage  of 


154  WHEAT 

poor  work  on  fallows  or  onfall  or  spring  cultivation. 

"Fallows  that  have  been  plowed  for  the  first 
time  after  the  first  of  July,  and  especially  after 
July  15,  have  never  given  good  results;  and  the 
plan  too  frequently  followed  of  waiting  till  weeds 
are  full  grown,  and  often  ripe,  then  plowing  them 
under  with  the  idea  of  enriching  the  soil,  is  a 
method  that  cannot  be  too  earnestly  condemned. 

"In  the  first  place,  after  the  rains  are  over  in 
June  or  early  in  July,  as  they  usually  are,  no 
amount  of  work,  whether  deep  or  shallow  plow- 
ing, or  surface  cultivation,  can  put  moisture  into 
the  soil.  The  rain  must  fall  on  the  first  plowing 
and  be  conserved  by  surface  cultivation. 

"Weeds,  when  allowed  to  attain  their  full 
growth,  take  from  the  soil,  all  the  moisture  put 
there  by  the  June  rains,  and  plowing  under  weeds 
with  their  seeds  ripe  or  nearly  so,  is  adding  a 
thousand-fold  to  the  myriads  already  in  the  soil, 
and  does  not  materially  enrich  the  land. 

"Packers  are  without  doubt  most  useful  imple- 
ments on  the  farm  and  where  from  any  cause,  the 
soil  is  loose,  they  should  be  used.  They  are, 
however,  expensive  implements  and  within  the 
means  of  comparatively  few  of  the  new  settlers. 
Fortunately,  early  plowing  and  frequent  shallow 
cultivation  may  be  depended  upon  to  produce 
almost  equally  satisfactory  results  in  the  majority 
of  cases." 

CULTIVATION  OF  STUBBLE 

"When  farmers  summer-fallow  one-third  of 
their  cultivated  land  each  year,  as  they  should, 
one-half  of  each  year's  crop  will  be  on  stubble. 


WHEAT  155 

For  wheat,  the  best  preparation  of  this  land  is  to 
burn  the  stubble  on  the  first  warm,  windy  day  in 
the  spring,  and  either  cultivate  shallow  before 
seeding  or  give  one  or  two  strokes  of  the  harrow 
after  seeding,  the  object  being  to  form  a  mulch  to 
conserve  whatever  moisture  may  be  in  the  soil, 
until  the  commencement  of  the  June  rains. " 

FALL  PLOWING 

"With  regard  to  fall  plowing  it  may  be  said 
that,  as  a  rule,  on  account  of  short  seasons  and  dry 
soil,  very  little  work  can  possibly  be  done  in  the 
fall;  but  if  the  stubble-land  is  in  a  condition  to 
plow  and  the  stubble  is  not  too  long,  that  portion 
intended  for  oats  and  barley  may  be  plowed,  if 
time  permits. 

"It  is,  however,  a  mistake  to  turn  over  soil  in 
a  lumpy  or  dry  condition,  as  nine  times  out  of  ten 
it  will  remain  in  the  same  state  until  May  or  June, 
with  insufficient  moisture  to  properly  germinate 
the  seed,  and  the  crop  will  very  likely  be  overtaken 
by  frost." 

The  writer  would  suggest  the  discontinuing  of 
stubble  burning  as  advocated  by  Professor 
MacKay.  Better  disk  thoroughly  and  '  leave 
stubble  on  the  field. 

Professor  MacKay  urges  strongly  that  "early 
and  thorough  work  on  fallows  is  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  success."  He  has  tested  several  methods 
and  recommends  as  the  best  methods :  Single  deep 
plowing,  seven  to  eight  inches  deep,  before  the 
last  of  June,  followed  by  surface  cultivation 
during  the  growing  season  sufficient  to  destroy 


156 


WHEAT 


weeds  and  conserve  soil  moisture.  The  next  best 
method  and  perhaps  the  best  and  cheapest  in 
some  soils  and  some  seasons  is  the  "double  plow- 
ing method":  plowing  deep  (6  to  8  inches)  before 
July  1,  giving  some  surface  cultivation  during 
July  and  August  and  plowing  rather  shallow, 
(4  to  5  inches)  immediately  after  harvest,  after 
which  the  soil  should  receive  such  harrowing  and 
packing  as  may  be  required  to  prepare  a  favorable 
seed  bed. 

The  author  would  suggest  also  the  testing  of 
the  listing  method  of  preparing  summer  fallow 
discussed  in  these  pages  (see  page  000)  and  which 
has  been  found  so  well  adapted  to  dry  farming  con- 
ditions in  the  western  states,  viz.,  substitute  listing 
in  place  of  plowing  in  the  "double  plowing 
method." 


Fig.  36. — The  far  flung  wheat  fields  of  western  Canada. 


WHEAT  157 

CHAPTER  XIII 
ROTATION  OF  CROPS 

Clover  and  alfalfa  are  grown  successfully  in 
eastern  Canada  and  in  southern  Manitoba  and 
Saskatchewan  as  are  also  the  grasses — western 
rye  grass,  timothy  and  Bromus  inermis.  Alfalfa 
may  be  grown  successfully  also,  in  western 
Canada. 

Wheat  has  given  nearly  as  high  yields  at  the 
southern  Saskatchewan  experimental  farm  when 
grown  after  field  peas  or  sand  vetch  as  when 
planted  on  summer  fallow.  Actual  tests  at  the 
experimental  farm  at  Indian  Head,  Saskatchewan, 
show  that  the  soil  which  had  been  cropped  twenty- 
two  years  with  grains  had  lost  nearly  one-third 
of  its  total  nitrogen,  determined  to  a  depth  of 
eight  inches,  compared  with  the  adjacent  virgin 
prairie.  Doubtless  as  the  land  becomes  older 
the  legume  crops  will  be  used  more  extensively 
in  rotation  with  wheat,  and  the  peas  and  vetch 
may  be  plowed  under  for  green  manure  with 
good  results  if  the  plowing  is  not  done  too  late. 
It  is  not  advisable  to  plow  the  ground  when  very 
dry  and  cloddy.  For  some  time,  while  the  land  is 
new,  the  occasional  bare  summer  fallow  will 
doubtless  be  the  most  practicable  rotation  and  give 
the  best  results. 

OTHER  POINTS  ON  SEEDING  SPRING  WHEAT 

It  is  important  to  seed  wheat  as  early  in  the 
spring  as  the  soil  and  season  will  permit,  in  order 
to  insure  maturing  before  frost.  This  will  not 


158  WHEAT 

usually  admit  of  spring  plowing  but  compels  fall 
preparation  of  the  soil  and  early  spring  disking 
of  stubble  land. 

The  best  and  usual  method  is  to  drill  the  grain, 
seeding  quite  shallow  one  and  one-half  to  two  and 
one-half  inches  deep.  The  best  amount  of  seed 
to  plant  varies  for  the  different  areas  and  climates. 
Six  pecks  per  acre  is  a  common  amount  to  sow  in 
the  eastern  provinces,  and  four  pecks  per  acre  in 
the  drier  western  provinces.  Less  seed  is  required 
on  the  drier  lands.  As  little  as  two  and  three  pecks 
per  acre  is  sometimes  seeded  on  summer  fallow,  or 
in  a  favorable  seed  bed. 

CULTURE  OF  WINTER  WHEAT 

In  his  annual  report  for  1908  Prof.  W.  H.  Fair- 
field,  superintendent  of  the  southern  Alberta 
experimental  farm,  gives  some  suggestions  and 
information  regarding  the  culture  of  winter  wheat 
as  follows: 

PREPARATION  OF  THE  LAND 

.  "  If  sod  is  to  be  used,  it  should  be  broken  in  May 
and  June,  while  the  soil  is  moist  and  before  the 
rainy  season  is  over.  May  breaking  usually  gives 
better  results  than  June  breaking.  The  sod 
should  be  rolled  or  flattened  down  as  fast  as  it  is 
broken  to  facilitate  the  rotting  process.  It  is  the 
custom  to  break  three  and  one-half  to  four  inches 
deep  and  prepare  a  seed  bed  by  the  use  of  a  disk, 
drag  harrow  and  float.  The  float  should  be  fol- 
lowed immediately  with  the  harrow,  for  evapora- 
tion takes  place  very  rapidly  from  the  land  when 


WHEAT  159 

the  surface  is  left  too  smooth.  If  the  floating  is 
done  just  before  seeding,  the  seed-drill  will,  of 
course,  roughen  the  surface.  A  light  harrowing 
immediately  after  seeding  is  advisable. 

BACKSETTING 

"  Although  it  is  not  customary  to  backset  in 
this  district,  it  is  a  practice  that  cannot  be  too 
highly  recommended.  When  backsetting  is  to  be 
done,  the  sod  should  be  broken  as  shallow  as 
practicable  and  immediately  rolled  or  flattened 
down  by  a  weighted  float.  The  earlier  the  break- 
ing after  the  grass  has  started  growth,  the  better 
will  be  the  results.  In  the  latter  part  of  July  or 
early  in  August  the  land  is  again  plowed  (with 
stubble  bottom  plows),  about  two  to  three  inches 
deeper  than  it  was  broken.  A  seed  bed  can  then 
often  be  prepared  by  the  use  of  the  harrow  only, 
but  a  disk  should  be  used  if  the  condition  of  the 
ground  requires  it.  Special  attention  should  be 
called  to  the  importance  of  harrowing  each  day's 
plowing  at  night  before  leaving  the  field.  If  an 
engine  is  used,  the  harrow  should  be  attached  to 
the  plow,  or  if  horses  are  used  on  a  sulky  or  gang 
plow,  one  section  of  a  harrow  should  be  attached 
so  that  the  land  is  harrowed  as  fast  as  it  is  turned. 
In  fact,  this  practice  of  harrowing  land  immed- 
iately after  it  is  plowed  should  always  be  followed. 
Too  much  stress  cannot  be  laid  on  this  point. 

TIME  TO  SOW 

"Although  our  results  for  this  season  would 
indicate  that  September  1,  is  the  best  date  to  sow, 


160  WHEAT 

this  is  one  of  the  questions  that  will  require  some 
further  years  experience  and  observation  before 
a  reliable  opinion  can  be  offered."  (Later  tests 
gave  results  favoring  earlier  seeding,  August  15  to 
September  1,  the  best  dates.) 

QUANTITY  OF  SEED  TO  SOW 

"This,  as  well  as  the  proper  time  to  sow,  is  a 
point  about  which  we  have  not  sufficient  data  at 
hand  to  draw  very  satisfactory  conclusions.  It  is 
reasonably  safe  to  assume  that  thin  sowing  will 
fill  better  in  a  dry  season,  while  in  a  normal  or 
wet  season,  medium  to  heavy  seedings  will  fill 
equally  well,  besides  producing  a  larger  yield.  It  is 
not  wise  to  go  to  extremes  either  way.  Thirty 
to  sixty  pounds  or  forty-five  to  sixty  pounds  is 
probably  the  approximate  amount  of  seed  to  sow 
per  acre. 

TREATING  FOR  SMUT 

"Winter  wheat  should  be  treated  for  smut 
just  as  conscientiously  as  is  spring  grain.  Either 
the  formalin  or  bluestone  method  is  satisfactory, 
providing  that  the  work  is  done  carefully.  Very 
smutty  grain  should  never  be  used  for  seed,  for 
even  when  treated  thoroughly,  some  smut  is  apt 
to  appear  in  the  resulting  crop." 

It  is  hardly  possible  to  follow  winter  wheat  with 
winter  wheat  in  Alberta  since  the  harvest  occurs 
early  in  August,  only  a  week  or  two  before  the 
next  crop  should  be  seeded.  It  is  almost  necessary, 
therefore,  to  seed  on  summer  fallow,  unless  the 
crop  is  sown  on  new  breaking  as  heretofore  dis- 


WHEAT  161 

cussed.     This  method   insures   a  good  yield  al- 
most every  season. 

HARVEST  AND  THRESHING 

The  wheat  harvest  season  in  Canada  is  neces- 
sarily late,  beginning  the  latter  part  of  July  in  the 
southern  latitudes  and  continuing  into  September 
in  the  more  northern  sections.  Light  frosts  often 
occur  in  August,  but  heavy  damaging  frosts  do  not 
usually  occur  before  early  September.  The 
methods  of  harvesting  are  the  same  as  in  the 
middle  and  western  states.  Both  the  header  and 
the  binder  are  used,  the  binder  being  used  exclu- 
sively in  the  eastern  provinces. 

Threshing  is  accomplished  by  large  steam  driven 
outfits,  and  continues  late  into  the  fall.  In  the 
west  straw  is  of  little  value  and  is  usually  burned 
to  get  it  out  of  the  way. 

The  grain  is  handled  in  bulk  through  elevators 
the  same  as  in  the  western  states.  Most  of  the 
surplus  wheat  and  flour  are  shipped  to  Great 
Britain.  The  total  wheat  export  of  Canada  in 
1911  was  60,474,020  bushels  of  wheat  and  3,542,- 
112  barrels  of  flour  (equivalent  to  15,939,558 
bushels  of  wheat,  (computing  four  and  one-half 
bushels  to  one  barrel  of  flour)  or  a  total  export  of 
76,413,578  bushels  of  wheat.  This  is  nearly  equal 
to  the  total  wheat  export  of  the  United  States 
which  was  only  83,329,750  bushels  in  1911  (in- 
cluding 11,258,030  barrels  of  flour). 

The  shipping  facilities  are  good  considering  the 
vastness  and  newness  of  the  country.  Western 
Canada  is  well  supplied  with  railroads  and  the 
11 


162  WHEAT 

storage  capacity  at  the  many  railroad  stations 
has  kept  pace  with  the  rapid  increase  in  wheat 
growing.  Western  Canada  has  three  trunk  lines 
of  railroad  and  these  railroads  have  built  thou- 
sands of  miles  of  branch  lines  and  new  roads  are 
still  being  built.  The  Canadian  Northern  will 
soon  complete  a  new  line  from  northern  Sas- 
katchewan to  Ft.  Churchill  on  Hudson's  Bay 
with  the  purpose  of  opening  a  new  water  route  to 
Europe.  The  advantage  of  this  Hudson's  Bay  route 
can  not  be  over-estimated.  Ft.  Churchill  to 
Liverpool  is  the  same  distance  as  New  York  to 
Liverpool. 

The  thousands  of  miles  of  railroads  and  the 
ever  improving  shipping  facilities,  the  vast  areas 
of  cheap  lands,  the  remarkably  fertile  soil,  the 
progressive  class  of  settlers  who  have  taken  up 
these  lands,  (largely  Americans  from  Iowa  and 
Minnesota  and  farmers  from  eastern  Canada) 
and  the  increasing  number  of  new  settlers  who 
continue  to  come  each  year  give  a  very  promising 
outlook  for  the  development  of  the  wheat  growing 
industry  of  the  great  Canadian  Northwest.  This 
development  will  do  much  towards  relieving  the 
situation  as  regards  the  decreasing  world's  supply 
of  food  over  which  some  economists  have  worried 
during  the  last  few  years. 


WHEAT  163 

CHAPTER  XIV 
SEEDING  MACHINERY 

There  are  two  general  methods  of  seeding 
wheat,  broadcasting  and  drilling.  Broadcasting 
is  nature's  method  of  distributing  seed  and  was 
the  first  method  employed  by  man.  The  seed  was 
simply  scattered  by  hand.  Hand  seeding  is  still 
practiced  in  sowing  grass  and  clover,  but  the  hand 
seeding  of  grain  is  largely  a  lost  art  in  this  country, 
since  machinery  for  this  purpose  makes  the  work 
much  easier  and  more  rapid.  In  parts  of  Russia 
and  in  other  eastern  countries,  hand  seeding  is 
still  employed. 

Drilling  in  shallow  furrows  made  by  a  shoe  or 
disk  is  now  recognized  as  the  best  method  of 
sowing  wheat  and  most  other  small  grains.  Drill- 
ing requires  less  seed  than  broadcasting  because 
the  seed  is  more  evenly  distributed  and  more 
uniformly  covered.  It  is  possible  to  deposit 
the  seed  in  the  firm,  moist  soil  which  with  the 
even  depth  of  planting  results  in  a  more  rapid, 
stronger  and  more  uniform  germination.  Because 
of  the  planting  in  furrows,  drilling  also,  to  some 
extent,  decreases  the  danger  of  injury  by  drouth, 
winter  killing  and  soil  drifting. 

BROADCAST  SEEDING  MACHINES 

Broadcast  seeding  machines  are  of  two  general 
classes: 

1.  The  broadcast  sowers  which  distribute  the 
grain  by  means  of  a  rotating  seed  plate  in  the 
bottom  of  a  hopper  which  feeds  the  grain  to  the 


164  WHEAT 

plate  at  a  uniform  rate,  from  which  it  is  thrown 
by  the  rotating  force  in  every  direction.  The 
best  machine  of  this  type  is  the  endgate  seeder 
which  operates  at  the  rear  end  of  a  wagon  box 
and  is  driven  by  a  gear  attached  to  the  wagon 
wheels.  Two  men  and  one  team  can  sow  fifty 
to  seventy-five  acres  per  day  with  this  machine. 

2.  The  broadcast  wheel  seeder  which  is  really 
a  long  hopper,  containing  many  spouts  or  seed 
cups  supported  on  wheels.  In  the  early  forms, 
the  grain  was  simply  drawn  through  the  spouts 
or  holes  in  the  hopper  by  gravity  and  distributed 
more  or  less  uniformly  over  the  ground  beneath. 
In  the  modern  seeder  the  turning  wheels  drive 
a  force  feed  which  carries  the  grain  up  from  the 
bottom  of  each  seed  cup  and  drops  it  regularly 
onto  a  disk  or  inverted  pan  from  which  it  is  spread 
quite  uniformly  in  all  directions  by  the  force  of 
gravity. 

Many  seeders  are  provided  with  shovels  which 
drag  through  the  soil  thus  covering  the  seed. 
The  wheel  seeder  is  probably  used  more  generally 
today  than  the  broadcast  sower,  but  in  the  seeding 
of  wheat  it  has  been  largely  succeeded  by  the  drill. 

DRILLING  MACHINES 

Contrary  to  the  usual  understanding,  the  grain 
drill  is  a  very  old  implement.  The  first  historical 
mention  of  grain  seeders  is  by  the  historian  Ardry, 
who  states  that  the  Assyrians  used  grain  drills 
many  centuries  before  Christ. 

In  1730,  Jethro  Tull  introduced  the  grain  drill 
into  England.  The  first  patent  was  granted  on  a 


WHEAT  165 

grain  seeding  machine  in  the  United  States  in  1799. 
The  rotary  seeder  was  introduced  in  1856,  the 
grain  drill  in  1874. 

The  grain  drill  differs  from  the  broadcast 
seeder,  (which  feeds  the  seed  onto  a  spreading  pan 
or  oval  disk  which  causes  it  to  scatter  broadcast 
over  the  ground,  when  it  is  covered  by  the  shovels 
or  hoes  which  follow  in  the  rear  of  the  machine), 
in  that  the  seed  falls  into  a  grain  tube  and  is 
carried  in  a  steady  stream  to  the  bottom  of  the 
furrow  made  by  the  shoe  or  disk,  where  it  is 
covered  by  the  drag  chain  or  press  wheels  which 
follow  the  shoe  or  disk  furrow  openers.  Thus  the 
grain  is  planted  in  straight  rows  or  drills  in  the 
firm  moist  soil  on  the  floor  of  the  small  furrows 
and  evenly  and  regularly  covered  with  mellow  or 
pressed  soil  as  may  be  desired. 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  FORCE  FEED 

The  development  of  the  grain  drill  has  been 
rapid.  The  old  gravity  feed  has  been  replaced  by 
the  force  feed.  The  original  method  was  to  allow 
the  seed  to  run  out  through  a  hole  in  the  bottom 
of  the  seed  cup.  An  agitator  kept  the  grain 
stirred  so  that  it  might  feed  regularly  through  the 
openings  which  could  be  regulated  in  size  by 
moving  a  slide.  It  was  not  possible  to  sow  very 
evenly  with  such  a  drill  since  the  jar  of  the  machine 
as  the  wheels  passed  over  clods  or  obstructions 
caused  the  seed  to  run  irregularly. 

The  force  feed  raises  the  grain  above  the  bottom 
of  the  seed  cups  and  forces  it  out  at  a  regular  rate 
by  means  of  grooved  wheels  or  grain  pinions 


166  WHEAT 

which  are  driven  by  a  small  revolving  shaft  con- 
nected with  the  main  shaft  by  sprocket  gears  or 
chains.  The  rate  of  seeding  is  regulated  by  in- 
creasing or  decreasing  the  width  of  the  opening 
through  which  the  grain  is  forced  or  by  changing 
the  speed  of  the  grain  pinions  by  a  gear  adjust- 
ment. 

The  modern  force  feed  drill  does  its  work  very 
accurately,  and  a  good  drill  may  be  adjusted  and 
set  to  sow  very  evenly  a  definite  amount  of  grain 
per  acre. 

THREE  FORMS  OF  GRAIN  DRILLS 

The  modern  wheat  drill  is  made  in  three  general 
forms:  1.  Hoe  drills.  2.  Shoe  drills.  3.  Disk 
drills.  Disk  drills  are  divided  into  two  general 
classes:  Single  disk  drills  and  double  disk  drills. 
The  shoe  and  disk  drills  may  have  press  wheels 
attached  in  the  rear  to  cover  and  press  the  soil 
over  the  seed,  or  more  commonly  short  chains 
are  used  which  drag  the  loose  earth  into  the  fur- 
rows and  thus  cover  the  seed. 

The  hoe  drills,  which  were  the  first  type  manu- 
factured, open  the  furrow  with  a  shovel  or  point 
which  is  dragged  through  the  soil  and  forced  down 
by  pressure  springs.  These  drills  give  heavy  draft 
and  tend  to  gather  trash  and  clog. 

The  shoe  drill  is  an  advantage  over  the  hoe 
drill  in  that  the  shovel  is  replaced  by  a  sharpened 
runner  or  shoe  which  cuts  into  the  soil,  opening  a 
V  shaped  furrow.  The  shoe  drill  runs  lighter 
and  tends  to  draw  over  the  rubbish  to  some  extent 
and  does  not  gather  trash  as  badly  as  the  hoe 


WHEAT  167 

drill.  It  is  a  good  drill  in  a  clean  well  prepared 
seed  bed. 

The  disk  drill  has  the  advantage  of  the  shoe 
drill  as  a  trash  rider,  since  in  place  of  the  shoe 
a  revolving  disk  rolls  through  the  soil,  riding  over 
or  cutting  under  trash  and  opening  a  neat  furrow 
in  which  the  seed  is  deposited.  The  disk  drill 
draws  a  little  lighter  than  the  shoe  drill  and  has 
a  special  advantage  in  trashy  land  or  hard  ground. 
The  double  disk  does  nice  work  in  well  prepared 
land  which  is  not  too  hard  or  trashy,  but  the 
single  disk  is  superior  in  hard  or  trashy  ground. 

As  a  general  drill  for  use  on  all  kinds  of  ground 
the  writer  prefers  a  good  single  disk  drill,  but  the 
double  disk  drill  and  shoe  drill  have  some  ad- 
vantages for  shallow  seeding,  as  in  sowing  alfalfa 
or  grasses,  since  their  depth  of  seeding  may  be 
better  controlled. 

Drills  are  manufactured  which  make  the  furrows 
5,  6,  7  and  8  inches  apart.  When  the  shoes  or 
disks  are  seven  to  eight  inches  apart  the  machine 
is  less  likely  to  clog.  The  standard  drills  more 
commonly  used  make  furrows  six  or  seven  inches 
apart. 

Drills  and  seeders  are  made  in  standard  widths 
varying  from  eight  to  fourteen  feet.  Single  drills, 
three  feet  wide,  for  sowing  wheat  between  the 
rows  of  corn  are  also  in  common  use.  In  the 
Red  River  valley  four  and  six  horse  machines 
having  a  width  of  eleven  or  twelve  feet  are  used. 
One  man  with  a  good  team  can  sow  thirty  acres 
per  day  with  one  of  these  large  machines. 

Grain  drills  may  be  purchased  with  grass  seeder 


168 


WHEAT 


attachments,  when  the  grass  and  clover  seed  may 
be  sown  at  the  same  time  the  grain  is  seeded.  The 
grass  seeder  usually  scatters  the  seed  broadcast 
either  before  or  after  the  opening  of  the  furrows,  as 
preferred.  The  writer  prefers  an  attachment  by 
which  the  grass  seed  may  be  run  through  a  tube 
into  the  drill  furrow,  thus  alfalfa  or  grasses  may 
be  seeded  alone  in  drill  rows  and  the  depth  of 
seeding  regulated. 

Modern  drills  may  also  be  provided  with  attach- 
ments for  distributing  fertilizers  at  the  same  time 
that  the  grain  is  sown.  There  are  several  differ- 
ent styles  used  and  most  of  them  do  satisfactory 
work.  The  writer  rather  prefers  to  have  a  separate 
machine  for  distributing  fertilizers.  A  lime 
spreader  will  do  the  work  and  is  needed  on  many 
farms  on  which  the  soil  is  becoming  "worn"  and 


"sour." 


A  Sender  Talented  iu 


APPENDIX 


INDIVIDUAL  PRACTICES 

Seager  Wheeler  of  Rosthern,  Saskatchewan, 
who  received  the  prize  of  $1,000  at  the  land  show 
in  New  York  for  the  best  bushel  of  wheat,  giving 
his  experience  under  Canadian  conditions,  says: 
"At  the  time  of  taking  up  the  matter  of  seed 
selection  I  was  growing  the  ordinary  Preston 
wheat  which  was  not  fixed  to  a  distinct  type.  This 
wheat  at  the  time  was  a  mixture  of  reddish  and 
white  chaff,  also  was  straw  colored  and  red.  The 
first  year  I  eliminated  the  white  chaff  variety. 
This  fixed  the  color  of  the  chaff  but  I  still  had  to 
separate  the  red  grain  from  the  yellow  in  order 
to  fix  the  color.  It  is  not  necessary  now  to  do  this 
work  as  the  beginner  can  secure  pure-bred  seed 
to  start  with. 

"All  this  work  in  selecting  by  hand  would  be  of 
little  benefit  if  the  seed  bed  were  neglected.  It 
would  be  folly  to  sow  good  seed  on  a  poorly 
worked  or  weedy  seed  bed.  Therefore,  it  is  highly 
important  to  have  the  seed  bed  in  good  condition. 
The  two  together  make  for  improvement  in  both 
quality  and  yield.  Such  seed  should  be  grown  on 
breaking,  summer  fallow,  or  root  land. 

"I  will  now  outline  my  method  of  preparing 
summer  fallow.  The  land  should  be  disked  or 
shallow  plowed  in  the  fall,  the  season  before.  I 
prefer  the  shallow  plowing — at  a  depth  of  two 
inches,  followed  by  packing  to  start  weed  growth 
in  the  spring.  In  the  spring  if  possible,  it  should 
be  given  a  stroke  of  the  harrows  to  break  up  the 


172  APPENDIX 

crust  that  will  form  after  the  snow  is  gone.  As  soon 
as  possible  after  seeding  time  it  should  be  plowed 
deep,  care  being  taken  that  the  furrow  is  well 
turned  down.  I  use  a  home-made  roller  behind 
my  gang  plow.  This  packs  down  the  furrow  and 
holds  the  moisture.  I  would  advise  every  farmer 
to  put  on  a  pulverizer  attachment  behind  the 
plow.  By  this  operation  my  plowing  is  rolled 
immediately  to  conserve  the  moisture.  The  plow 
is  followed  by  a  surface  packer  to  pack  it  down 
more.  After  it  is  packed  I  use  a  plank  drag  similar 
to  what  is  called  the  King  Drag  or  road  drag. 
This  is  made  with  two  two  by  eight  planks  nine 
feet  long,  placed  on  edge  three  feet  apart,  the 
ends  overlapping  one  foot.  Pieces  two  by  six 
are  mortised  in  to  hold  the  planks  in  place.  On 
these  boards  are  nailed  for  the  driver  to  stand  on. 
It  is  operated  at  a  slight  angle.  The  driver  should 
stand  on  it  to  do  good  work,  and  by  shifting  his 
position  on  the  drag  the  angle  may  be  altered  to 
suit.  The  drag  is  operated  up  the  right  hand  side 
of  the  field,  crossing  at  the  end  and  following 
down  by  the  first  dead  furrow,  doing  the  field  in 
sections  to  avoid  waste  of  time  crossing  the  ends. 
The  reason  for  using  the  drag  is  that  I  want  to 
level  up  the  field  and  put  the  surface  in  a  uniform 
condition.  Should  a  rain  come  shortly  after,  it  is 
surprising  to  see  how  weeds  will  germinate.  Rain 
penetrates  readily  when  land  is  in  this  condition. 
"As  soon  as  possible  after  a  rain,  while  the  soil 
is  moist  (not  wet  not  dry)  it  should  be  harrowed. 
If  disking  is  necessary  during  the  summer  the 
drag  (plank)  will  put  it  in  uniform  condition  again, 


APPENDIX 


173 


174  APPENDIX 

levelling  any  ridges.  Cultivation  should  be  kept 
up  to  kill  weeds  and  conserve  moisture.  The  next 
spring  you  will  have  a  firm  seed  bed  in  a  uniform 
condition.  When  the  seeder  goes  on  a  field  like 
this  you  will  notice  the  benefit  of  the  plank 
dragging.  The  seed  bed  is  uniform  and  the  drill 
plants  the  seeds  at  a  uniform  depth.  The  surface 
packer  follows  the  drill,  not  for  the  purpose  of 
packing  the  root  bed  but  to  pack  the  moist  soil 
around  the  seed  to  hasten  germination.  This  is 
followed  by  the  harrows.  After  the  grain  is  up 
four  to  six  inches  I  harrow  to  cultivate  and  kill 
any  weeds.  The  harrows  I  use  are  home-made  for 
the  purpose.  They  are  light  and  do  good  work. 
The  object  is  to  keep  the  grain  growing  by  culti- 
vating it. 

"I  also  use  the  plank  drag  on  breaking  as  well 
as  on  fall  and  spring  plowing.  In  plowing  in  the 
spring  for  a  crop  I  follow  the  same  method,  using 
the  packer  after  the  plow.  Then  comes  the  drag, 
then  the  seeder  followed  by  the  packer,  and  then 
the  harrows.  This  insures  getting  the  seed  in  a 
firm  seed  bed  while  moist.  Cultivation  can  be 
done  after  it  is  seeded.  Fall  plowing  also  is  treated 
according  to  the  same  method  of  preparing  the 
seed  bed. 

"In  my  opinion  it  is  a  mistake  to  seed  fall 
plowing  early  in  the  spring.  It  should  be  given 
a  stroke  of  the  harrows  to  conserve  moisture  and 
allow  weeds  to  germinate.  It  can  be  sown  later 
on,  as  fall  plowing  generally  matures  a  crop  faster 
than  spring  plowing,  breaking  or  summer  fallow. 
I  would  sow  breaking  first  and  summer  fallow 


APPENDIX  175 

next,  and  then  do  some  spring  plowing  before 
sowing  fall  plowing.  Many  farmers  make  the 
mistake  of  sowing  fall  plowing  first  and  then 
wonder  why  the  crop  is  light  and  weedy. 

"  I  do  not  claim  that  my  method  is  the  best  that 
can  be  followed  but  the  principle  remains,  that 
whatever  method  is  adopted  I  am  a  firm  believer 
in  the  plank  drag  before  the  seeder. 

"The  most  important  point  to  insure  a  good 
quality  of  grain  and  increased  yield  is  to  sow 
good  seed  in  a  good  seed  bed  and  have  uniformity. 
All  these  three  go  hand-in-hand — you  cannot 
separate  them. 

"By  good  seed  I  mean  seed  of  a  pure  variety, 
well  cleaned  and  free  from  broken  grains,  small 
grains,  light  grains,  or  immature  grains,  as  well 
as  weed  seeds,  so  that  the  result  is  uniform  seed. 
A  good  seed  bed  is  one  that  is  well  prepared,  as 
outlined  above,  giving  a  uniform  depth,  insuring 
uniform  germination,  uniform  growth,  uniform 
heading  out,  uniform  ripening,  uniform  grain  for 
the  binder  to  operate  on,  uniform  sheaves,  less 
waste  in  cutting,  a  uniform  surface  for  the  binder 
to  run  on  and  make  nicely  bound  sheaves.  You 
also  have  uniform  grain  of  a  uniform  quality. 
Besides,  when  the  plow  goes  on  the  land  again  it 
runs  more  smoothly  and  turns  a  furrow  at  a  uni- 
form depth.  Therefore,  uniformity  plays  a  most 
important  part,  no  matter  what  methods  are 
adopted. 

"I  wish  again  to  lay  stress  on  the  use  of  the 
plank  drag.  I  would  not  care  to  farm  without  it. 
If  I  could  follow  out  my  own  inclination  I  would 


176  APPENDIX 

follow  the  plow  with  a  subsurface  packer  to  pack 
down  the  furrow  slice,  using  the  surface  packer 
after  the  seeder,  principally  to  pack  the  soil 
around  the  seed.  Years  ago  I  used  to  harrow 
behind  the  plow  in  the  spring,  and  harrow  and 
harrow,  and  then  wonder  why  the  stools  would 
turn  yellow  and  die  down  in  a  hot  spell  in  July. 
It  also  seemed  strange  that  some  of  the  grain 
would  germinate  at  once  and  some  come  up  later 
after  the  first  rain,  resulting  in  uneven  growth. 
My  object  now  is  to  sow  the  seed  while  the  seed 
bed  is  moist  and  cultivate  afterward.  I  know  of 
no  better  method  than  that  which  I  have  out- 
lined. At  least  it  has  always  given  good  results 
with  me.  When  I  find  a  better  way  I  will  change 
my  system  of  farming. 

"I  have  seen  men  who  would  go  out  in  the 
spring  and  plow  after  a  fall  of  snow  while  the  snow 
lay  on  the  ground.  After  the  grain  was  up  I  have 
walked  over  their  fields  sinking  ankle  deep  in 
dry  dust.  Such  crops  as  these  suffer  in  every  dry 
spell. 

"Many  farmers  make  great  blunders  in  regard 
to  depth  of  burying  their  seed.  With  a  seed  bed 
prepared,  as  I  have  outlined  and  on  soil  such  as 
we  have  to  deal  with,  I  have  concluded  that  one 
to  one  and  a  half  inches  is  the  proper  depth  for 
wheat  on  summer  fallow  as  well  as  on  thoroughly 
prepared  new  breaking  or  fall  plowing.  For  spring 
plowing  the  best  depth  is  about  two  inches.  The 
important  consideration  is  the  moisture  line. 
Plant  the  seed  just  below  the  moisture  line  and 
then  pack  to  insure  quick  germination. 


APPENDIX  177 

"The  prize  wheat  was  sown  on  April  21  and  cut 
on  August  28.  After  sowing  it  was  packed.  When 
the  grain  was  up  four  to  six  inches  high  it  was 
harrowed  by  the  light  harrows  for  the  purpose  of 
cultivation.  The  growth  was  vigorous  and  strong. 
I  may  say  that  I  always  harrow  growing  grain 
whenever  possible.  The  main  thing  is  to  have  a 
solid  seed  bed  and  uniform  surface.  I  run  the 
harrows  with  the  drill  rows  on  a  hot,  dry  day  to 
kill  weeds.  Such  harrowing  does  not  injure  the 
grain.  On  a  loose  seed  bed,  however,  harrows 
might  smother  some  grain  and  also  pull  some  out. 
It  is  giving  attention  to  small  details  that  counts 
whether  we  are  growing  grain  for  market,  for  seed, 
or  for  exhibition  purposes — attention  to  every 
detail  in  preparing  the  seed  and  the  seed  bed, 
treatment  for  smut  and  in  the  cleaning  process. 

"Every  farmer  should  be  particular  to  sow 
only  the  best  seed;  he  should  take  care  that  the 
seeder  is  cleaned  before  putting  in  another  variety 
or  another  kind  of  grain.  Clean  off  the  binder 
to  every  straw  when  entering  on  a  field  of  grain  of 
another  variety.  Such  time  cannot  be  counted 
as  lost,  but  rather  as  gained." 


12 


178  APPENDIX 

II 
WHEAT    THAT  WON  THE    WORLD'S   PRIZE    IN    1913 

The  wheat  that  won  the  world's  prize  at  the 
Dry  Farming  Congress  held  at  Tulsa,  Oklahoma 
in  1913  was  grown  by  Paul  Gerlach,  Allan, 
Saskatchewan.  In  addition  to  the  various  quali- 
ties that  gave  this  wheat  the  prize  it  was  remark- 
able in  that  it  broke  the  world's  record  in  weight, 
weighing  seventy-one  pounds  to  the  bushel.  A 
statement  of  how  this  wheat  was  grown  including 
the  steps  taken  in  the  preparation  of  the  soil 
as  well  as  those  in  breeding  up  the  seed  follows. 

"I  am  asked  to  what  I  attribute  my  success 
in  growing  the  wheat  that  took  the  world's  prize 
at  the  Tulsa  Dry  Farming  Congress.  Replying 
I  should  say  to  good  seed  and  to  feeding  the  plants 
well.  How  the  seed  was  originally  secured,  later 
improved  and  finally  how  the  soil  was  tilled  shall 
relate. 

"Marquis  is  a  hybrid,  having  been  produced  by 
crossing  Red  Fife  with  Red  Hard  Calcutta,  and 
the  product  carefully  selected,  under  the  guidance 
of  Dr.  Saunders  at  Ottawa.  The  advantage 
Marquis  possesses  over  Red  Fife,  is  about  eight 
to  ten  days  earlier  maturity,  and  about  six  bushels 
more  per  acre.  The  straw  is  very  strong,  of 
medium  length  and  the  bald  heads  well  chaffed. 
As  to  milling  value  it  is  fully  equal  to  Red  Fife. 
Now  that  Marquis  has  thrice  in  succession  won 
the  World's  Championship,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
as  to  its  superiority. 


APPENDIX  179 

"I  came  from  Detroit,  Michigan,  seven  years 
ago,  and  located  on  a  homestead  eight  miles 
south  of  Allan.  I  learned  after  a  few  years  farm- 
ing, that  there  wa?  some  danger  of  a  possible 
early  frost  damaging  the  wheat,  particularly  if 
grown  on  heavy  soil  and  sown  late.  I  noticed 
an  article  in  a  farm  journal  telling  of  the  qualities 
of  Marquis.  I  sent  for  five  pounds,  the  quantity 
allowed  each  farmer,  and  persuaded  a  few  friends 
to  secure  an  equal  amount  and  pass  the  same  on 
to  me.  In  that  manner  I  received  fifteen  pounds, 
which  I  sowed  on  breaking.  The  product  I 
threshed  with  a  flail  to  assure  purity.  The  next 
year  I  sowed  the  wheat  on  summer  fallow,  and 
during  the  growing  season  I  culled  out  bearded 
heads,  other  grains,  also  any  stray  noxious  weeds. 
This  plan  I  followed  each  succeeding  year,  using 
great  care  in  threshing  to  avoid  mixing. 

"My  1911  crop  was  particularly  fine,  and  a 
sample  shown  at  the  Provincial  Seed  Fair,  secured 
the  championship,  scoring  ninety-nine  points, 
weighing  sixty-six  and  one-half  pounds,  ranking 
highest  in  purity  and  second  in  milling  value  in 
its  class. 

"The  next  year  my  exhibit  at  the  same  Fair 
was  awarded  second  prize,  scoring  94|  points, 
ranking  first  in  purity  and  milling  value. 

METHOD  OF  SEED  SELECTION 

"After  winning  the  Provincial  Championship, 
I  wrote  to  Dr.  Saunders  asking  him  for  a  small 
amount  of  a  superior  strain  of  Marquis,  if  he  had 
one,  as  I  wished  to  get  the  best  available.  I  also 


180  APPENDIX 

told  him  what  I  had  done  and  the  result.  He 
advised  me  to  select  from  my  own,  as  there  was 
no  better  to  be  obtained.  I  then  selected  a  bushel 
of  the  choicest  kernels,  which  were  sown  in  our 
garden.  After  the  plants  were  headed  out,  I 
carefully  culled  out  all  plants  not  to  my  fancy. 
I  did  this  at  least  a  dozen  times.  The  product 
of  this  plot,  I  recleaned  and  sowed  on  summer- 
tilled  soil  and  again  the  culling  process  was  re- 
sorted to.  I  can  assure  you  I  felt  a  thrill  of  joy 
as  I  rode  the  binder  while  cutting  this  field,  the 
straw  had  just  a  tinge  of  green  and  the  grains 
were  quite  firm.  I  had  sown  a  bushel  to  the  acre, 
and  the  yield  was  thirty-seven  bushels. 

"It  became  evident  that  I  could  not  get  a 
machine  to  thresh  my  crop  very  early,  so  I  hauled 
several  loads  of  sheaves  to  the  barn,  the  remainder 
was  left  in  the  stook  or  stack.  It  was  the  wheat 
stored  in  the  barn  that  won  at  Tulsa,  Oklahoma, 
weighing  slightly  over  seventy-one  pounds  to 
the  bushel,  which  I  understand  is  a  world's 
record. 

"The  other  wheat  was  threshed  late,  causing 
a  loss  of  several  bushels  per  acre  and  of  a  somewhat 
bleached  sample,  which,  however,  would  not  im- 
pair its  value  for  seed. 

"I  am  still  further  improving  my  wheat  by 
hand  selection.  While  culling  over  the  small 
field  above  mentioned,  I  noticed  some  plants 
showing  a  superiority  over  the  others,  the  heads 
were  nearly  square,  filled  from  end  to  end  with 
large  kernels.  I  spent  three  days  selecting  a  sack 
full  of  these  heads  which  I  threshed  in  a  bag  to 


APPENDIX  181 

avoid  any  possible  mixture.  Last  spring  I  sowed 
this  seed  in  the  garden  and  after  the  plants  were 
headed,  I  weeded  out  any  heads  not  true  to  the 
type  I  desired.  As  soon  as  the  grain  was  ripe  I 
selected  a  sack  full  of  heads  conforming  to  my 
ideal.  These  will  be  threshed  and  sown  next 
year.  I  shall  continue  improving  my  wheat  if 
such  is  possible. 

I  FOLLOW  THE  CAMPBELL  SYSTEM 

"Now  as  to  how  I  till  the  soil.  My  main  effort 
is  to  conserve  moisture,  in  this  I  try  to  follow  the 
Campbell  system  of  soil  culture,  (Campbell  Soil 
Culture  Co.,  Lincoln,  Nebraska).  Our  soil  is  a 
moderately  heavy  chocolate  clay  loam  and  works 
up  nicely  if  done  at  the  proper  time.  In  preparing 
summer  fallow,  I  prefer  starting  the  year  before, 
by  following  the  binder  with  a  disk  harrow,  disking 
the  stubble  as  soon  as  the  grain  is  cut,  keeping 
far  enough  away  from  the  standing  grain  to  permit 
the  large  wheel  of  the  binder  to  travel  on  solid 
ground.  As  long  as  the  straw  is  standing  it  acts  as 
a  blanket  on  the  earth  preventing  evaporation  to 
a  large  extent.  As  soon  as  the  straw  is  removed 
the  protection  is  gone  and  sun  and  wind  soon 
dry  out  the  surface.  By  disking  as  stated,  I 
gain  in  various  ways.  First,  I  break  up  the  cap- 
illarity of  the  surface  soil  to  prevent  the  loss  of 
moisture  through  evaporation.  Second,  the  soil 
is  in  splendid  shape  to  receive  a  rain  and  permit 
the  water  to  enter  the  soil  quickly  and  to 
escape  through  evaporation  very  slowly.  Third, 
by  thoroughly  mixing  stubble,  weeds,  roots, 


182  APPENDIX 

straw,  etc.,  with  the  soil,  the  surface  two 
inches  or  more,  when  turned  under  with 
a  plow,  will  produce  a  fine  root  bed,  whereas  if 
all  this  material  were  left,  as  is  often  the  case 
on  most  farms,  without  disking,  the  dry  earth, 
stubble,  etc.,  would  be  turned  under  all  in  one 
mass,  causing  an  open  dry,  condition  which  must 
be  an  inhospitable  home  for  the  roots  of  plants. 
Water  from  below  the  depth  of  the  furrow  cannot 
reach  the  roots,  neither  can  the  roots  reach  the 
water.  As  soon  as  the  moisture  in  the  surface 
soil  is  exhausted  the  plants  suffer.  Fourth,  by 
covering  weed  seeds  at  this  time,  many  will  be 
started  to  grow  and  freeze  during  the  winter. 
Those  that  do  not  die,  or  those  that  fail  to  grow 
during  the  autumn,  will  grow  early  the  next  spring 
and  are  then  cared  for. 

"I  do  not  recommend  burning  the  stubble, 
unless  there  is  too  much  of  it  to  disk  under.  In 
cases  where  a  large  amount  of  stubble  is  present 
and  many  noxious  weeds  as  well,  I  would  certainly 
resort  to  burning.  I  desire  to  put  back  into  the 
land  as  much  humus  as  I  can.  By  destroying 
the  stubble  by  fire,  you  do  not  improve  your  soil. 

HOW  SUMMER  TILLING  IS  DONE 

"After  seeding  is  finished  in  the  spring,  I  disk 
the  land  to  be  summer  tilled.  This  will  kill  many 
weeds  and  cause  others  to  grow;  it  also  opens  the 
soil  to  receive  and  retain  the  rains.  As  soon  as 
the  weeds  have  started  growing,  I  begin  plowing. 
I  turn  a  furrow  of  about  six  inches,  and  shall  go 
a  little  deeper  each  year  until  a  sufficient  depth 


APPENDIX 


183 


.2 

•s- 


bfi 

£ 


184  APPENDIX 

is  reached.  I  follow  with  the  subsurface  packer 
every  half  day.  This  I  consider  important  as 
the  soil  is  then  in  splendid  shape  to  be  packed, 
it  is  soft  and  pliable,  air  spaces  are  crowded  out, 
capillarity  is  re-established  and  plant  food  is 
being  manufactured.  I  harrow  each  day's  plow- 
ing before  night  to  conserve  what  moisture  I  have. 
After  each  rain  that  settles  the  mulch  sufficiently 
to  permit  the  capillary  movement  of  the  water 
to  the  surface,  I  go  over  the  field  with  the  acme 
harrow,  this  kills  weeds  and  produces  a  perfect 
mulch.  I  desire  to  keep  the  soil  as  black  as  pos- 
sible during  the  season,  if  weeds  are  allowed  to 
grow  they  take  away  the  moisture  intended  for 
the  wheat. 

LIGHT  SEEDING  AND  HARROWING 

"On  the  field  that  produced  the  wheat  shown 
at  Tulsa,  I  sowed  one  bushel  per  acre,  to  a  depth 
of  three  inches,  well  into  the  moist  soil  and  just 
below  the  mulch.  I  do  not  recommend  that 
amount  on  all  soils  or  under  all  conditions.  The 
seed  was  treated  with  formalin  by  means  of  an 
immersion  bath.  After  drilling,  the  ground  was 
packed  with  a  corrugated  packer,  this  pressed 
the  soil  particles  close  to  the  grain,  bringing  mois- 
ture to  them,  resulting  in  an  even  germination. 
By  firming  the  surface,  the  moisture  was  brought 
from  the  lower,  into  the  upper  soil,  causing  any 
weed  seeds  that  were  near  the  surface  to  grow 
and  these  were  harrowed  out  just  as  the  wheat 
emerged  above  the  ground.  I  use  a  lever  harrow 
with  the  teeth  set  at  an  angle  of  about  forty-five 


APPENDIX  185 

degrees.  When  the  wheat  had  attained  a  height 
of  about  four  inches,  a  rain  fell  which  settled  the 
mulch,  and  the  day  following  we  again  harrowed 
the  field,  getting  rid  of  many  weeds  and  re- 
establishing the  mulch  to  conserve  moisture  and 
allow  a  more  perfect  circulation  of  air  in  the  soil. 
There  was  nothing  further  done  until  the  heads 
were  visible.  I  then  hired  a  man  and  it  became 
his  duty  to  cull  out  any  plants  not  true  to  type, 
other  grains,  or  noxious  weeds,  in  fact,  I  do  this 
with  all  my  fields. 

"I  am  convinced  that  if  farmers  understood 
the  controlling  of  moisture  and  the  manufacture 
of  plant  food  better,  there  would  be  less  crop 
failures.  Let  me  draw  a  simile:  Suppose  I  were 
to  live  entirely  on  broth.  I  would  place  a  vessel 
containing  water  over  a  fire,  and  in  it  a  quantity 
of  meat,  preferably  cut  into  smaller  pieces.  The 
chemical  change  now  taking  place  in  the  water 
would  be  caused  by  heat.  The  heated  water 
extracts  the  nutriment  from  the  meat.  The 
longer  the  extracting  process  goes  on,  the  stronger 
becomes  the  broth,  the  less  of  it  I  would  require 
to  satisfy  my  bodily  need.  A  small  amount  of 
the  concentrated  broth  would  be  as  nourishing 
as  a  large  amount  of  the  weaker. 

"Now,  how  is  that  simile  applied  to  soil  culture 
and  plant  growth?  If  I  mix  the  stubble,  straw, 
manure  and  so  forth  with  the  surface  soil,  then 
turn  it  into  the  bottom  of  the  furrow  and  pack 
it  down  well,  I  crowd  out  all  air  spaces  and  bring 
moisture  to  the  material  I  turned  under,  which 
causes  it  to  decay — forming  plant  food.  By 


186  APPENDIX 

harrowing  after  each  rain  of  any  consequence  I 
prevent  the  escape  of  moisture.  By  plowing 
early  in  the  season  (for  summer  fallow)  I  have  my 
food  factory  at  work  a  long  time,  and  under  the 
effect  of  the  heat  caused  by  the  summer's  sun, 
a  large  amount  of  plant  food  is  extracted  from  the 
material  plowed  down  or  from  the  soil  particles 
and  held  in  soluble  form,  which  is  the  only  form  in 
which  plants  can  partake  of  the  food.  The  richer 
the  food,  the  less  each  plant  requires. 

"  I  tilled  the  soil  which  produced  the  prize  wheat 
as  nearly  as  possible  along  the  lines  I  have  in- 
dicated, and  by  sowing  only  a  bushel  to  the  acre, 
did  not  crowd  the  plants,  but  each  had  a  full 
supply  of  rich  food,  the  result  was,  the  world's 
best  and  heaviest  wheat,  over  seventy-one  pounds 
to  the  bushel.  The  1911  Prize  Wheat  weighed 
sixty-five,  the  1912,  sixty-four. 

"I  was  greatly  pleased  at  my  wheat  winning, 
but  I  have  greater  pride  in  the  knowledge  that 
the  seed  that  produced  the  wheat  has  been  brought 
to  such  a  state  of  perfection  on  our  own  farm, 
after  years  of  painstaking  effort,  under  the  joint 
care  of  my  wife  and  myself.  I  give  full  credit 
to  her  for  her  share." 


APPENDIX  187 

III 
HOW  TO  RUN  A  BINDER 

The  best  machine  ever  made  is  worthless  in 
the  hands  of  the  man  who  has  not  sufficient 
knowledge  of  its  mechanism  to  adjust  it  properly 
and  to  care  for  and  repair  it.  The  folio  wing  advice 
on  how  to  run  a  binder  by  Persey  Wastle  and 
published  in  the  SCIENTIFIC  FARMER  is  so  full 
of  practical  hints  that  it  is  reproduced  verbatim. 

It  seems  that  there  is  a  dearth  of  advice  in  our 
agricultural  papers  concerning  the  operating  of 
farm  machinery,  excepting  probably,  the  gasoline 
engine.  We  read  a  great  deal  of  how  to  take  care 
of  our  implements  when  not  working,  such  as 
oiling  them  and  putting  them  away  under  cover, 
all  of  which  is  very  important,  but  I  think  a  few 
pointers  on  how  to  run  them  when  in  the  field 
would  not  come  amiss. 

I  wish  to  deal  with  the  self  binder,  one  of  the 
most  ingenious,  and  also  one  of  the  greatest  labor 
saving  machines  in  existence.  We  will  suppose 
the  grain  is  nearly  ripe;  so  we  will  pull  the  binder 
out  of  the  shed,  where  it  has  been  carefully  housed 
since  last  harvest,  though  this  is  rarely  the  case 
in  the  west.  I  have  generally  noticed  them,  or 
at  least  all  one  could  see  of  them  for  weeds, 
standing  in  the  corners  of  the  fields,  where  they 
were  left  the  year  before. 

The  first  thing  to  do  is  to  go  all  over  the  binder 
with  a  wire  pick,  and  clean  the  oil  holes.  It  is 
advisable  while  doing  this  to  notice  if  there  are 
any  broken  parts,  so  they  can  be  sent  to  town  for 


188  APPENDIX 

immediate  repair.  Next,  the  bearings  must  be 
well  oiled,  so  the  oil  will  have  a  chance  to  get 
worked  into  the  bearings. 

If  the  knife  is  still  in  the  binder,  it  should  now 
be  pulled  and  sharpened,  if  it  is  a  plain  one, 
or  if  a  rough  edge  sickle  broken  sections  should 
be  knocked  off  and  replaced  by  new  ones. 

The  canvases  should  now  be  overhauled. 
Buckles,  straps  and  slats  should  be  replaced  where 
they  are  broken  or  worn  out.  Patches  should  be 
sown  on  the  holes,  as  here  is  where  a  great  deal 
of  trouble  is  often  met  with.  Leaves  and  straws 
go  through  the  holes  and  wrap  around  the  rollers. 
This  makes  the  roller  too  large,  and  thus  jambs 
the  canvas  against  the  frame  of  the  machine, 
causing  the  canvas  to  stop,  sometimes  tearing 
off  slats  or  buckles.  Before  putting  on  the  canvas, 
be  sure  that  all  rollers  run  free,  and  also  that  the 
frames  are  square.  The  canvas  will  not  run  true 
if  they  are  not,  but  will  run  towards  one  corner. 
This,  of  course,  will  tear  them. 

In  order  to  make  the  frame  true,  take  a  car- 
penter's square;  hold  the  long  end  against  the 
frame,  the  other  against  the  roller.  You  will 
then  see  exactly  how  much  they  are  out,  and  by 
screwing  up  the  truss  rods  correct  the  fault. 

The  reel  is  one  of  the  most  important  parts  of  the 
binder,  yet  few  farmers  seem  to  think  so,  judging 
by  the  way  they  have  it  tied  up  with  binder  twine, 
wire,  etc.  Unless  there  is  a  good  reel  on  a  binder, 
it  will  not  make  a  good  sheaf.  The  shape  of 
a  sheaf  is  determined  by  the  way  the  grain  is 
laid  on  the  platform  canvas.  Unless  the  reel  is 
perfectly  true,  it  will  not  lay  the  grain  so  that 


APPENDIX  189 

a  good  sheaf  can  be  made  of  it.  In  order  to  ac- 
complish this,  each  slat  of  the  reel  must  be  par- 
allel to  the  platform;  that  is  both  ends  must  be 
parallel  to  the  platform.  Also  one  end  must  not 
be  ahead  of  the  other. 

We  now  have  everything  ready  to  start.  The 
horses  are  hitched  on  and  away  we  go  to  the  field. 
Well,  the  sheaves  are  considered  too  small;  we 
must  make  them  larger.  I  think  I  have  heard 
about  a  dozen  different  ways  to  accomplish  this, 
and  there  are  but  three.  The  simplest  way  is  to 
tighten  up  the  screw  on  the  trip.  If  this  is  not 
enough,  lower  the  trip;  and  still  another  way  is 
to  slide  the  sheaf  holder  in  towards  the  binder. 
This  gives  the  grain  less  leverage  on  the  trip, 
and  thus  makes  a  larger  bundle.  These  methods 
apply  to  one  of  our  own  best  known  makes  of 
binders. 

Now  that  we  have  the  sheaf  adjusted  to  the 
required  size,  everything  ought  to  go  lovely. 
But  troubles  never  come  singly.  The  binder  is 
missing  sheaves.  What  now?  Get  a  monkey 
wrench  and  tighten  or  loosen  something  on  the 
knotter  mechanism?  No,  certainly  not;  not 
until  we  find  what  the  trouble  is.  First  go  to  the 
twine  box;  ascertain  if  the  twine  is  running  freely. 
If  all  is  well  here,  follow  up  the  twine  and  see  if 
the  binder  is  threaded  rightly.  "Next  try  the  ten- 
sion. If  the  tension  is  too  tight,  this  will  make 
the  knotter  miss,  as  it  is  liable  to  pull  the  twine 
out  of  the  twine  holder  or  disk.  If  not  tight 
enough,  the  machine  will  also  miss.  If  the  twine 
is  running  right,  the  tension  right,  the  binder 


190  APPENDIX 

threaded  all  right,  then  the  trouble  must  be  at 
the  knotter.  Now  it  is  no  use  looking  at  the  knot- 
ter  because  unless  it  is  badly  out  of  tune,  it  looks 
the  same  whether  it  is  in  perfect  working  order 
or  not.  Then  what  are  we  to  do?  We  must 
look  at  the  twine,  when  the  binder  misses,  and 
ascertain  what  it  is  doing.  If  the  twine  is  cut 
off  square  with  the  curl  at  the  end,  we  may  be 
certain  that  the  disk  or  twine  holder  is  not  tight 
enough.  By  tightening  this  up  very  little  at  a 
time,  we  will  eventually  remedy  the  trouble. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  twine  is  pulled  off  to  a 
point,  the  disk  is  too  tight  and  is  cutting  the  twine. 
By  slacking  the  disk,  this  can  be  corrected.  To 
ascertain  if  there  is  anything  wrong  with  the  bill- 
book,  examine  a  sheaf  that  it  tied.  If  the  knot 
is  pulled  very  tight  and  the  ends  of  the  twine 
frayed  away,  the  billhook  is  too  tight.  If  the 
knot  is  very  slack  and  near  the  ends  of  the  twine, 
the  billhook  is  too  slack.  When  oiling  the  ma- 
chine, examine  the  needle  to  find  if  any  foreign 
leaves  or  other  matter  has  gathered  in  the  eye; 
sometimes  obstructions  become  wedged  in  so 
tightly  that  the  twine  will  not  run  through,  caus- 
ing the  knotter  to  miss  sheaves. 

Always  run  the  binder  as  nearly  level  as  possible. 
Never  have  it  tilted  back,  as  this  will  make  it 
hard  to  pull;  have  it  tilted  forward  enough  to 
make  it  balance  a  little  down  in  front.  If  it  is 
thrown  too  much  forward,  it  causes  too  much 
weight  on  the  horses'  necks,  or,  if  there  is  a  truck, 
too  much  weight  on  the  little  wheels,  thus  taking 
the  driving  power  off  the  main  wheel. 


APPENDIX 


191 


If  the  binder  suddenly  sticks,  never  whip  up 
the  horses  to  start  it.  Get  off  and  find  the  trouble. 
Probably  a  stick  or  root  has  got  into  the  knife 
or  a  nut  has  dropped  off  somewhere  and  got  be- 
tween two  cog  wheels.  When  these  things  are 
cleared  away,  you  may  get  on  the  machine  and 
start  away  again. 

Run  the  reel  as  high  as  possible  without  letting 
any  grain  fall  forward,  and  always  tie  the  sheaf 
as  near  the  center  as  possible. 

After  the  first  half  day  a  person  should  exper- 
ience very  Itttle  trouble  in  running  a  binder.  In 
fact,  if  a  binder  is  well  cared  for  each  year,  it 
will  start  off  without  any  trouble. 


Fig.  39. — A  field  of  Marquis  wheat. 


INDEX 

A 

Acme  harrow,  143 
Alaska  wheat,  21 
Alberta  Red  wheat,  142,  143 
Alfalfa  as  a  fertilizer,  112 

B 

Backsetting,  148,  149,  151,  159 

Binder,  how  to  operate,  187 

Bluestem  wheat,  22 

Breaking  prairie  sod,  148;  deep  breaking,  151 


California,  methods  of  farming  in,  123;   old  methods,  124 

Campbell  packer,  44 

Campbell  system,  181 

Canada,  culture  methods  in,  146;    development  of,  14;    part 

of  Great  Plains,  134;  rainfall  in,  137;  soil  of,  135;   wheat 

areas,  138;  wheat  production,  12 
Capillarity,  how  to  restore,  46 
Cereals  of  America,  6;  world's  production,  9,  10 
Chinch  bug,  92,  94 

I  Climate,  influence  of,  32;  wheat  requirements,  38 
Club  Head  wheat,  22,  23;  on  Pacific  coast,  129 
Combine,  73,  74;  where  used,  74;  in  California,  121 
Community  seed,  36 
Cost  of  production,  88;   in  different  countries,  89;   on  Pacific 

coast,  133 
Cultivation,  after  seeding,  65,  184;   shallow  furrow,  57 

D 

Disk  cultivator,  48 

Durum  wheat,  22,  23,  25;  in  Canada,  141 

E 

Egyptian  wheat,  21 

Elevators,  co-operative,  87;   independent,  85 

Embryo,  19 

Endosperm,  19 

F 
Fertilization,    green    manure,    117;     manure,    115;     summer 

fallowing,  117;  use  of  straw,  114 
Fertilizers  needed  by  wheat,  108 
Formaldehyde  for  stinking  smut,  96;  a  poison,  97 


INDEX  193 

G 

Ghirka  wheat,  22 

Grading  of  wheat,  85 

Grain,  color,  19;   physical  parts,  19;   variation  in  size,  19 

Grain  weevil,  95 

Green  manuring,  effect  of,  119;  at  Fort  Hays  station,  117 

H 

Harvest,  70;  date  of,  72;  in  Canada,  161;  methods  of,  73 

Header,  72 

Hessian  fly,  59,  92,  94 

Hopkins,  opinion  of,  112 

Individual  practices,  169 

Inspection  of  wheat,  86,  local  grains,  86 

K 

Kharkof  wheat,  29,  142,  143 

L 

Legumes  as  fertilizers,  112;    in  rotation,  39 
Listing,  17;  advantages  of  method,  49;  contour,  51;  depth  of, 
49;  for  wheat,  47;  effect  on  yield,  52 

M 

Macaroni  wheat,  25,  26 

Marketing  of  wheat,  81,  82;  prices,  84;  tricks  of,  84 

Marquis  wheat,  179 

Mixed  farming,  system  of,  107 

N 

Nitrogen  in  soil,  110;   in  clover  crop,  113;   in  roots  of  alfalfa, 
112   . 

P 

Pacific  coast,  wheat  growing  on,  122 
Packing  with  subsurface  packer,  56 
Pasturing  wheat,  67,  68 

Plant  food,  amount  removed  by  wheat,  113;   constituents  of, 
110;  development  of,  41;  digestion  of,  41;  made  available, 
41 
Plowing,  43;   deep,  47;   fall,  155;   in  California,  128;  shallow, 

54 
x     Prize  wheat  1911,  177;   of  1913,  178 

X  R 

Red  Fife  wheat,  22;   early  maturing,  40;   origin  of,  139 

Rolling  wheat,  67 

Root  system  of  wheat,  16,  37 

Rotation  of  crops  to  prevent  drifting,  55;   influence  on  wheat 

yields,  108;   in  Canada,  157;   plans  of,  102;  for  semi-arid 

land,  104 
Rust  of  wheat,  95 


194  INDEX 

s 

Saunders,  work  of,  143 

Scoring  wheat,  90;  score  card,  91 

Seed,  adaptation  of,  29;   breeding,  32;   cleaning  and  grading, 

30;   germination  of,  16 
Seed  bed,  firming  of,  44;  physical  condition,  42;  requirements, 

40,  175 
Seeding,  depth  of,  62;  early,  59;  methods  of,  60;  thickness  of, 

61,  184 
Seeding  machinery,  163;    broadcast  seeder,  163;    drills,  164, 

165;  disk  drill,  167;  forms  of  drills,  166 
Shocking,  75;  kinds  of  shocks,  76 
Shrinkage  of  grain,  82 

Smut,  damage  from,  95;  treatment  of,  31,  96;  hot  water  treat- 
ment, 98;  loose  smut,  97 

Soil  drifting,  how  to  prevent,  55,  56;  deep  furrows,  58 
Soil  fertility,  how  maintained,  100;  cause  of  loss,  101 
Soil  moisture,  45,  46;   conservation  of,  129,  153,  154 
Soil  mulch,  44 
Soil  required  by  wheat,  38 
Spring  mowing,  69 
Spring  wheat,  11;  on  fallow  land,  50 
Stacking,  77;  how  to  begin,  78;  how  to  complete,  79;  not  when 

damp,  81 

Subsurface  packer,  44;   Dunham  packer,  47 
Summer  fallow,  51;   clean  summer  fallow,  152;   cultivation  of, 

174;   in  regions  of  light  rainfall,  152;   methods  of,  53 
Summer  tilling,  49,  54,  55;  in  Canada,  182;  in  California,  125 

T 

Threshing  directly  from  the  shock,  81;   from  the  field,  83 
Trap  crops,  94 
Turkey  Red  wheat,  22,  29,  30 

W 

Washington,  culture  methods  in,  127 
Weeds,  92 
Wheat,  countries,   11;    chemical  composition  of,  28;    flower 

and  fruit,   16;    hard  wheat,   25;    milling  varieties,   23; 

Russian,  31;    soft  wheat,  24;    stooling,  17;    types  of,  21; 

varieties,  20. 
Wheat-sick  land,  102 
Winter  killing  on  drilled  land,  60;  causes  of,  63,  64;  to  prevent, 

65 
Winter  wheat,  11;  followed  by  potatoes,  60;   on  Pacific  coast, 

131;   preparation  of  land  for,  158;   quantity  of  seed,  160; 

time  to  sow,  160;    varieties  in  Canada,  142 

Y 
Yields  of  wheat,  cause  of  low  yields,  70 

Z 
Zavitz,  work  of,  144 


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